The historically Black medical school, which has been a leader in addressing COVID-19, plans to use the funds toward developing a more diverse health care workforce and improving health equity. The school is one of 11 supported by The United Methodist Church’s Black College Fund.
Meharry Medical College announced in March that it has received a $20 million gift from author and philanthropist, Mackenzie Scott. These funds provide a significant opportunity for Meharry to meaningfully address health disparities and advance health equity while our nation and world are positioned for a moment of enormous change.
Meharry Medical College is one of the black colleges supported by the Black College Fund which provides financial support to maintain solid, challenging academic programs; strong faculties; and well-equipped facilities.
Meharry’s unprecedented growth and change has been underway at the institution since 2015. The College intends to deploy these funds to advance its 2026 strategic vision and support the development of several vital programs and infrastructure improvements at Meharry and transform the College ahead of its sesquicentennial celebration.
Meharry’s 2026 strategic vision aims to develop a more diverse health care workforce; improve health equity through innovative approaches to treatment, research, public health and health policy; and define and implement a new model for delivering patient-centered care. This gift will allow Meharry to increase resources for students, improve research opportunities and allow students to have increased access to state-of-the-art campus and living facilities.
“MacKenzie’s generous donation is a testament to the positive impact Meharry has had on global health care and advancing health equity,” said Dr. James E.K. Hildreth, President and CEO of Meharry Medical College. “This gift now allows Meharry to invest time and money to expand our academic programs and much-needed infrastructure improvements. Meharry is grateful to MacKenzie Scott for her recognition of the significant contributions Meharrians have made since our founding and for investing in our future as a global leader in advancing health equity and reducing health disparities.”
Meharry continues to make strides to diversify the health care landscape as a top producer of primary care physicians. In dental care, currently, Meharry trains more than 40 percent of all Black dentists in the nation. The School of Graduate Studies and Research is consistently recognized as a top producer of African-American biomedical Ph.D. graduates. And, Meharry’s newest School of Applied Computational Sciences is advancing scholarship in key domains of data science by innovating through academic excellence and research, connecting to key health care, business and thought leaders in computational science and serving society at large.
Press Release by Layne Litsinger, Meharry Medical College
One of seven apportioned giving opportunities of The United Methodist Church, the Black College Fund provides financial support to maintain solid, challenging academic programs; strong faculties; and well-equipped facilities at 11 United Methodist-related historically black colleges and universities. Please encourage your leaders and congregations to support the Black College Fund apportionment at 100 percent.
