WesternU Board of Trustees creates $6 million endowed scholarship

POMONA, Calif., March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Western University of Health Sciences' Board of Trustees has created a $6 million endowed scholarship to help remove financial barriers for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and increase student diversity in graduate health sciences and the health professions workforce.

The WesternU Board of Trustees Scholarship fund will annually award about $120,000 to eligible incoming first-year students. The awards will be renewable if the student remains enrolled and in good standing in their academic program. Students may use the funds for qualified educational expenses including tuition, required textbooks, and equipment.

"I'd like to thank our present and expanding WesternU Board of Trustees for their tireless quest to enrich and shape the lives of our students," said WesternU President Robin Farias-Eisner, MD, PhD. "This Scholarship Fund confirms WesternU's commitment to dismantling health disparities and broader systemic injustices that disproportionately affect economically disadvantaged and underrepresented groups."

WesternU is also developing a Scholars' Program for scholarship recipients that will include mentoring and community service programs.

"The goal for the WesternU Board of Trustees Scholarship is to build a diverse student body, and the goal of the Scholars' Program is to retain and support them," said WesternU Senior Vice President of Advancement Diane Abraham, PhD. "We anticipate that these scholarship recipients will return the investment after they graduate and serve as donors, mentors, or stay involved and engaged in other ways."

The WesternU Board of Trustees Scholarship aligns with the University's core mission of humanism and its continuing commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism. In November 2021, the University appointed Suresh Appavoo, EdD, as its first Vice President for Humanism, Equity, and Anti-Racism with the charge to establish a Center for Humanism, Equity, and Anti-Racism.

"This scholarship is an important step in WesternU's commitment to cultivating, nurturing, and growing a student body that resembles the diversity of California and beyond," Dr. Appavoo said. "Education in the health sciences has struggled with overcoming chronic underrepresentation, inequity, and increasing the access and success of students from diverse communities. Through this scholarship, WesternU intentionally seeks to educate and grow the diversity of the workforce in the health professions. This scholarship will have a generational impact on systematically reducing health inequity in our most underserved communities."

Details regarding the WesternU Board of Trustees Scholarship fund administration are still being finalized. For information on WesternU scholarships, visit WesternU's Office of Financial Aid: https://www.westernu.edu/financial/financial-scholarships/

Media Contact

Rodney Tanaka, Western University of Health Sciences, 909-469-5402, [email protected]

SOURCE Western University of Health Sciences