South L.A. medical school receives biggest donation in its history

A historically Black medical school in South Los Angeles has received a $75-million gift, the largest in the university’s history.

Charles. R. Drew University of Medicine and Science received the funds as part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative, which seeks to accelerate wealth accumulation in the Black community by addressing systemic underinvestment, university officials said in an announcement Tuesday.

“This monumental gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies is a transformative investment in the future of healthcare, our university, and most importantly, our students,” David M. Carlisle, the university’s president and chief executive, said in a statement. “It will significantly enhance Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science’s ability to educate and empower diverse healthcare professionals who are committed to serving underserved communities.”

Dr. David M. Carlisle, the president & CEO of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, called the donation “a transformative investment.”

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

The South L.A. school received the money as part of a $600-million gift to support the country’s four historically Black medical schools — Drew, Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, Meharry Medical College in Nashville and Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta — and help launch the Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine in New Orleans, the organization said.

“We have much more to do to build a country where every person, regardless of race, has equal access to quality health care — and where students from all backgrounds can pursue their dreams,” former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg LP, said in a statement. “Addressing health disparities and underrepresentation in the medical field are critical challenges, and Bloomberg Philanthropies is dedicated to making a difference. By building on our previous support, this gift will empower new generations of Black doctors to create a healthier and more equitable future for our country.”

The $75 million directed to Charles R. Drew University will strengthen the school’s operations, increase its capacity for research and bolster its endowment at a time of rising tuition costs, the university statement said. Bloomberg Philanthropies also awarded the school a $7.7-million gift in 2020, at the time the single largest gift in the school’s history.

Charles R. Drew University was founded in 1966 in the wake of the violent unrest in Watts, in response to the lack of adequate medical facilities in the area. It was named after Charles R. Drew, a distinguished surgeon and former chair of surgery at Howard University whose work focused on blood banking and blood plasma storage and transfusion.