Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine received a $10 million gift from the Walter S. and Lucienne Driskill Foundation to support the training of medical school doctoral candidates through merit-based scholarships.
Feinberg Dean Eric Neilson said the school appreciates all donations but acknowledges the direct benefit the Driskill grant offers to students.
“This happens to be a nice one because we don’t often get endowments for scholarship awards for students, so this has been a great development for us in that regard,” Neilson said.
The gift will be distributed in $2 million installments every year over the next five years, Ronald Barnard, executive director of the Driskill Foundation, said . Feinberg officials intend to cover the cost of the research and training programs for select students already admitted to the medical school. The program aims to develop medical skills and research techniques for students in a variety of fields.
Barnard said there are no specific restrictions to the grant. The medical school will make the decision about how the money is spent, but the bulk of funds will be allocated to research projects rather than administrative costs.
The number of students who will receive scholarships has not yet been determined. Neilson said the ability to support students will also depend on the strength of the market, since the interest of the endowment fund – rather than the initial investment – will be spent to support the training of PhD students. Neilson said he hopes the endowment fund will continue to raise interest and support more students.
“We are very grateful to the Driskill Foundation and to all of our donors, who take scholarship and training seriously,” Neilson said. “We are very proud of our students and are delighted to find ways to support them financially.”
The Driskill Foundation donated $5 million in 2010 to establish the Immunotherapy Research Program and Fellowship Fund at Feinberg, and previously provided $975,000 to NU’s rheumatology division for research fellowships.
Walter and Lucienne Driskill, who ran a profitable beer-importing business for decades, formed the Driskill Foundation in 1986 to support medical research and groups that seek to prevent child abuse.
