A family foundation founded by the late Dudley Rauch, AB’63, has pledged $ 30 million to create an on-demand financial aid foundation for medical students at Duke University School of Medicine.
The donation from the Rauch Family Foundation is the largest single commitment for financial aid that has ever been made to the medical faculty.
Rauch, an alumnus with deep connections to Duke, established the School of Medicine’s first all-inclusive scholarship in 2013. In early 2018, he began discussions with University and School of Medicine leaders about ways to make an even more transformative gift of financial aid.
Those talks were interrupted when Rauch passed away unexpectedly in July 2018. The Rauch Family Foundation has now completed the work it had begun.
“This is a historic gift for Duke University and the School of Medicine,” said Vincent E. Price, president of Duke University. “Dudley Rauch was a distinguished alumnus and generous sponsor of the university with a vision to change the lives of students and offer them extraordinary opportunities. This gift from the Rauch Family Foundation will help make Dudley’s vision a reality, and we are deeply grateful for your commitment to building on his legacy. “
Mary E. Klotman, dean of the School of Medicine, said the generosity of the Rauch Family Foundation will unburden generations of Duke medical students. The gift will help pave the way for careers in medicine for more students from diverse backgrounds and improve Duke’s ability to compete for the best aspiring students.
Currently, around 40% of the needs-based financial aid package for medical students consists of federal loans. Although Duke’s average medical student loan debt is lower than many other institutes, the average School of Medicine student still graduates with an advanced degree and about $ 140,000 in loan debt.
“Our primary funding priority is to reduce the student loan burden,” said Klotman. “I was fortunate to have met Dudley Rauch and seen firsthand his commitment to helping students achieve their dreams and reach their potential. The Rauch Family Foundation has proven this remarkable gift with the same spirit. Your generosity will change the lives of countless medical students. “
Dudley Rauch earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Duke in 1963 and then earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. His father, Henry E. Rauch, was the chairman of Burlington Industries and served on the Board of Trustees of Duke University from 1964 to 1974. As Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Henry Rauch worked closely with William G. Anlyan, then Dean of the School of Medicine, and played a key role in the great expansion of Duke Medical Center in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Dudley Rauch served on the Duke Alumni Admission Advisory Committee for 15 years and provided philanthropic support to Trinity College of Arts & Sciences and several medical research areas at Duke including rheumatology, cancer and arthritis through his family foundation.
On the occasion of his 50th class reunion in 2013, he set up the Rauch Family Merit Scholarship at the School of Medicine. Awarded annually to an incoming student with exceptional potential for an outstanding career in medicine and service, the scholarship offers an unprecedented level of financial support: full tuition, books, utilities, and living expenses for every four years of medical studies. So far, nine outstanding medical students have been awarded the Rauch Family Merit Scholarship.
In 2017, Rauch made an estate commitment of $ 8 million to endow the Rauch Family Merit Scholarship on a permanent basis. Soon after, he expressed an interest in making the School of Medicine’s ability to offer even more needs-based financial support even more substantial.
After Rauch’s death, members of the Rauch Family Foundation’s board of directors took on the matter. They decided to respect his intentions and met with Klotman and other Duke leaders to complete the process he had begun.
“The Board of Directors of the Rauch Family Foundation is pleased to honor the memory of its founding member Dudley A. Rauch,” said Sam Salen, President of the Foundation. “During his lifetime. Dudley used philanthropy and his love for Duke to advance several projects in medical schools. The Board of Trustees felt it appropriate to make this gift, which will help Duke medical students in the long term to complete their training after graduation without such a heavy debt burden. “
Dudley Rauch was a passionate believer in the power of philanthropy and the obligation of those who had the means to give back to the people and places that made them thrive. He loved meeting with the fellows he had established and asked only one thing: if they ever succeed financially, they should consider helping others too.
“Investing in young people at Duke University School of Medicine is an extremely worthwhile investment,” Rauch said in 2017. “It’s wonderful to be able to give away money and know that it is positive. I hope that other alumni will reflect on what a Duke education and the Duke imprimatur for their success have meant for their success, and also consider giving something back. “
source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/rauch-foundation-makes-historic-gift-for-school-of-medicine-financial-aid/
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