August 27, 2009

UCSF to Receive Stimulus Money to Fund Scholarships

UCSF has been awarded $159,000 in federal stimulus funds for student financial aid in the coming academic year.

The funds, from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will benefit at least 49 new UCSF students in the schools of medicine, dentistry and pharmacy, said Joseph Castro, PhD, vice provost of Student Academic Affairs.

The $787 billion economic stimulus package, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), includes $200 million for scholarships, loans and support for programs that expand and improve the training of the nation’s health professionals.

A portion of that money — including the $159,000 for UCSF — is being distributed through the Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students (SDS) program within HHS. UCSF traditionally receives SDS allocations every year, but these new funds must be awarded to students who previously did not receive SDS money, said Carrie Steere-Salazar, director of the UCSF Student Financial Services Office.

UCSF found out about the scholarship funding in mid-August and Steere-Salazar said she was “delighted” by the news.

“These scholarships are awarded to students who come from backgrounds that might have created barriers along their journey toward a health professions degree, so it’s especially gratifying to have some additional money in this program,” she said. “I only wish we’d gotten more!”

“The federal funds will provide much-needed relief for many of our students and their families during this challenging economic period,” Castro added. “The money represents an investment in the next generation of leaders in the health professions that will pay dividends for all of us in the future.”

A decline in state funding over the past several years has caused financial aid for UCSF graduate students to lag, with nine of the University’s 11 major graduate programs forced to reduce their enrollments, according to former UCSF Chancellor Mike Bishop, MD, who spoke about this and other financial challenges at the July 15 meeting of the UC Board of Regents.

“This is a truly ominous trend,” Bishop said at the meeting. “Graduate education has long been a crown jewel at UCSF, and it is valuable currency — a hallmark of great research universities, among the principal attractions in recruitment of new faculty, and an important provider for the work force of the knowledge economy in California.”

The new SDS funds will allow UCSF to build upon its commitment to diversity and to developing the world’s future leaders in health care delivery, research and education — two key elements of the UCSF Strategic Plan.

“This is extremely good news,” said John Featherstone, MSc, PhD, dean of the School of Dentistry. “One of our top priorities right now is to find money for scholarships to attract the best and most diverse group of students possible in the current very difficult financial climate.”

Sam Hawgood, MBBS, dean of the School of Medicine, and School of Pharmacy dean Mary Ann Koda-Kimble, PharmD, were equally enthusiastic about the news and echoed Featherstone’s hope that the funds would bring in students from a wide variety of backgrounds.

“As student fees rise, we are ever more concerned about affordability and access to our programs,” Koda-Kimble said. “These funds will help us achieve the critical goal of preparing a diverse health care workforce.”

SDS considered each of UCSF’s professional programs separately in the award process, based on factors such as the number of socioeconomically disadvantaged students admitted to each program and the number graduates who enter primary care or work in areas where there is a recognized shortage of health providers, Steere-Salazar said.

Forty-nine medical, pharmacy and dentistry students have already been identified as being eligible for SDS-funded scholarships, she said, but additional students may be included as UCSF receives new financial aid applications.

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