For the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, recruiting the most promising and gifted minds is at the top of every priority list. To that end, Oakland University Trustee and long-time benefactor Ann Nicholson has made a $500,000 commitment to establish an endowed scholarship for future School of Medicine students. The gift will provide for more than half of a student’s tuition cost and help ease the financial burden that so many medical students face after graduation.
"Scholarships are a fundamental building block for the successful establishment of the medical school"
-Founding Dean Folberg
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“Scholarships are a fundamental building block for the successful establishment of the medical school,” Dr. Robert Folberg, dean, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, said. “The students in our inaugural classes must possess a myriad of skills and characteristics and meet a broad range of requirements to earn admission. The ability to afford medical school, however, should not be one of those requirements.”
Called the Ann V. Nicholson Scholarship, the gift goes hand in hand with Nicholson’s desire to increase the number of physicians in the region.
“The United States needs to be training new physicians now to meet the medical needs of our aging population and to oversee the increasingly sophisticated treatments for many health conditions,” Nicholson said. “A substantial portion of our physicians now come from abroad, but I don’t think this situation is, or ought to be, sustainable over the long run.”
Nicholson chose to support scholarships “because of the high cost of medical education,” she said. “I am concerned that those students who wish to become general practice doctors in order to help others are forced to choose higher paying specialties in order to pay the debts from their education. I hope my scholarship will reach those students.”
The Ann V. Nicholson Scholarship will be directed specifically toward students who take part in the School of Medicine’s Capstone program, which allows students to become involved within the community to address pressing health care issues. Students who participate during all four years of their medical school career will be eligible for a scholarship in their last year of school.
Nicholson hopes these experiences will translate into better training for students and better care for patients. “Medical students are smart, trained to think scientifically and to notice things,” she said. “Their skills as critical thinkers, not just as doctors, are needed in the greater community. They, in return, have the opportunity to develop skills in communication and cooperation with non-medical people, which should help them in all aspects of their future practices.”
For more than 16 years, Nicholson has been an enthusiastic supporter of Oakland University, its programs and its initiatives. As a trustee, her ability to assume leadership roles and rally others to give in support of important OU initiatives, such as the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, has been transformational.
“Ann’s gift will no doubt inspire others to see the profound opportunity for good that can come from helping to shape the future of even one doctor,” Gary Russi, president of Oakland University, said. “Scholarships are invaluable in helping us build a strong, creative, influential medical school that will have a lasting effect on medical education and the practice of medicine. This gift will help make lives better.”