Tuition-free medical school gets $200M gift
Kenneth and Elaine Langone have given $200 million to the NYU Long Island School of Medicine to ensure that its students will continue to receive a tuition-free education.
The school is also being renamed NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine to honor Dr. Robert Grossman, CEO of NYU Langone Health and dean of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine in Manhattan.
Ken Langone is a prolific philanthropist who co-founded the Home Depot home improvement chain in 1978.
“By providing our future doctors with an affordable education, we are investing in a brighter and healthier future for all, particularly here on Long Island, where Elaine and I grew up,” Langone, chair of the NYU Langone Board of Trustees, said in a written statement. “Providing a world-class, tuition-free medical education here on Long Island ensures many of these future doctors will remain and practice on Long Island. None of this would have been possible without Bob Grossman’s visionary leadership shaping the future of medicine.”
Grossman called the Langone’s transformative gift “extraordinary” and that it will allow students to pursue a career in medicine regardless of their background and financial status.
“Our goal has always been to offer exceptional opportunities to the most talented students,” Grossman said in the statement. “The focus on primary care at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine also allows them to meet a critical need in our local communities and have a real impact. I wish each of them great success on the wonderful path they have chosen.”
Established just four years ago, NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine offers an accelerated three-year MD curriculum focused on training primary care physicians, and attracting bright minds from diverse backgrounds. Eighty-five percent of the school’s graduates remain in New York for their training after graduation.
As a result of the Langones’ gift, the medical school can continue to offer free tuition and allow students to avoid about $200,000 in debt, the median amount determined by the Association of American Medical Colleges. The yearly tuition costs covered by the scholarship at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine total $59,738.
