Bringing Along the Next Generation of Great Michigan Physicians

We all know it — medical education today is an expensive proposition. The breadth of medical knowledge, the sophistication of the technology — many factors contribute to the increased costs of becoming a doctor. Graduating with a debt of $100,000 is average. Many students are graduating with debt, including obligations from their undergraduate years, of $200,000 or more. And most Michigan medical students receive no significant scholarship support. This is where you, as a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School, can make a huge difference in the life of a student today.

A gift of $100,000 provides a permanently endowed scholarship in your name, and generates a distribution of $5,000 in its first year. But another way to accomplish the same goal in the shorter term, with less drain on your resources, is to make an annual gift of $5,000 for four years, in effect “adopting” a student for the four years of his or her study at Michigan. A new gift option designed to help meet Dean Lichter’s goal of scholarship support for every student, the $5,000-a-year-plan allows you to sponsor a scholarship in your name without actually endowing a scholarship.

By making this named gift, you will be building a relationship with a student who knows who you are, who will be genuinely inspired by your generosity, and deeply grateful for your support. Such a gift, in addition to immediately lifting some of the financial strain placed on a medical student today, is a wonderful way of expressing your own gratitude for the difference that being a part of medicine at Michigan has made in your life and career, and for helping to strengthen the tradition of “giving back” that is so essential to the School’s future.

Your gift will qualify you for recognition at the Elizabeth Crosby Society level of giving or higher. Your gift can be made today by check or by using your charge account. If you have questions, Sandi Kline in the Office of Medical Development and Alumni Relations will be happy to answer them. She can be reached at (734) 998-0358, or by e-mail at klines@umich.edu.

The students pictured above, who are all featured in a new film produced by the Medical School on the need for scholarship support, are, from left, Josh Bess, Caroline Schreiber, Will Johnson, Elise Georgi, Nandita Sugandhi and Alice Lin. If you would like a copy of the film on videotape or DVD, please let Sandi Kline know. She will be pleased to provide you with a copy.