Dear Colleagues-Friends,
This past weekend, VCU students, including many of our medical and graduate students, gathered together with our alumni and community leaders who have supported their careers. It was an invigorating event kindly hosted by the MCV Foundation and a poignant reflection with celebration of the talent and future promise of all our trainees. It turns out that this year more than 75% of students on the MCV campus received financial aid to support their educational endeavors. Included among them are our stellar medical students, and over 140 of them were honored this year with 111 scholarships at MCV Foundation’s recognition of Endowed Scholarships.
Scholarships are a crucial factor in helping students earn their medical degrees. This wonderful article outlines the many ways scholarships assist students. So many of our alumni and community leaders have given scholarship support and we so appreciate this. An additional 59 scholarships are in development for SOM students. Our thanks also to all of you for your great mentorship of students as well as your commitment to raising more support for our junior colleagues, who are awesome talent and so full of future promise. With 413 endowed scholarships across the health sciences, overall funds awarded through our MCV Foundation this year totaled $2.14 million. We congratulate all our development officers and the MCV Foundation on their successes in raising funds for such a great cause.
We are also cognizant that this year we celebrate the 70th year of the MCV Foundation. Our MCV Foundation is a great partner – pivotal to the success of our school. The growth of the Foundation over seven decades has been remarkable and Foundation assets have grown to more than $567 million and 1,738 funds to support a high impact on all our missions. We greatly value our partnership with MCV Foundation and congratulate Margaret Ann Bollmeier, president, and Harry Thalhimer, chairman of the Foundation board and the entire board of dedicated alumni and community leaders.
Shortly, we will embark upon our Medical Philanthropy Academy in order to better train all of us to be the best partners we can be with our MCV Foundation and development team in raising support for our academic mission. We are grateful to our development team for providing us with this opportunity.
With appreciation for all you do,
Peter F. Buckley, M.D.
Dean, VCU School of Medicine
Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, VCU Health System