Gift to help cover tuition for students in lab medicine 

A gift from an anonymous donor will cover the tuition for the senior-year clinical rotations of all undergraduate students enrolled in the Medical Laboratory Science Program, UW Medicine announced today.  

The gift will generate annual disbursements estimated to exceed $50 million over the next 50 years.  

The educational program, which awards a Bachelor of Science degree, is offered by the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Medical laboratory science graduates perform patient lab tests at hospitals and clinics and for public health agencies, conduct research in academic and commercial laboratories, and teach at colleges and universities. 

“I was shocked at first, and it took a second for me to process that they are going to pay our tuition. And then I felt a lot of relief,” said Jasmine Wertz, 30, a senior in the program. “Our schedule is very demanding, especially when we start clinical rotations for 40 hours a week. It's very hard to find time between studying and doing rotations to be able to hold a job.”

Asked what she would say to the donor, Wertz replied, “Oh, my gosh, thank you. Just thinking of the gift they’ve given to so many people. Thank you for acknowledging our major and our career as a viable source of healthcare.” 

The gift will cover in-state tuition during clinical rotations for all medical laboratory science seniors and will help the program expand enrollment to 100 students over the next 10 years. Currently, there are 70 students, and 35 have begun their senior-year clinical rotations. 

“It has been a long-standing dream to provide more financial support to students during the professional phase of the UW-MLS Program. We are deeply grateful to the donor whose transformative generosity is making this and our program’s growth possible,” said Dr. Geoffrey S. Baird, professor and department chair, who holds the Paul E. Strandjord and Kathleen J. Clayson Endowed Chair of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the UW School of Medicine. 

Washington state and the rest of the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) region face an acute and worsening shortage of medical laboratory specialists as the demand for lab services has grown. Currently, only two programs in Washington state offer baccalaureate-level medical science degrees.  

“This donor’s selfless generosity will allow us to reduce the debt burden for our students and attract more young people to the field to  ensure that our region has the skilled laboratory workforce that is so critical to high-quality, timely patient care,” said Dr. Tim Dellit, CEO of UW Medicine and the Paul G. Ramsey Endowed Dean of the UW School of Medicine.  

 “This extraordinary gift advances one of our highest priorities: making a UW education accessible and debt-free and enabling students who are passionate about healthcare to pursue their goals,” said UW President Robert J. Jones. “Its profound impact on student success will lead to more trained healthcare professionals and better health for all Washington residents.”    

For details about UW Medicine, please visit https://uwmedicine.org/about.