Rauch Family Foundation donates $30 million to support need-based financial aid at School of Medicine

The Rauch Family Foundation recently donated $30 million to support future medical students eligible for need-based financial aid at the Duke School of Medicine. 

“This is the largest gift supporting need-based scholarships for Duke University School of Medicine students ever,” wrote Edward Buckley, vice dean for education at the Duke School of Medicine, in an email. “It is an endowment which means it will continue to support students in perpetuity.” 

The amount a medical student can receive depends on their need as well as how much other funding is available. Although financial need is necessary to be eligible for the funding, other factors such as diversity and merit can play a role in deciding who these scholarships go to, according to Buckley.

As with any other endowed gift, the funds will be placed in a long pool. The interest earned each year is what will be awarded to students. 

“This initial year, the funds will be a smaller amount based on when the gift was received. And starting in 2022-2023, we will receive a full years’ worth of interest that we will be able to award,” wrote Lori Crooks, assistant dean of financial aid at Duke School of Medicine. “We have to strategize how we plan to distribute the funding and will be working on several forecasting models to determine how we will be able to impact the greatest number of students.”

Dudley Rauch, Trinity ‘63, a late Duke alumnus and founder of Rauch Family Foundation, has held strong ties to the University since his undergraduate days as a math major. After graduating from Harvard Business School, Rauch served on the Duke Alumni Admissions Advisory Committee for 15 years and provided philanthropic support to Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, the Duke Chapel and several medical research endeavors at Duke through his family foundation.

“After Rauch’s death, members of the Rauch Family Foundation’s board continued the conversation he had started with Duke leaders about his interest,” Buckley wrote. “They chose to honor his intentions, meeting with [Medicine School Dean] Mary Klotman and other Duke leaders to finalize the process he had started.”

This isn’t the first time Rauch has given back to the Duke community. To mark his 50th class reunion in 2013, he established the Rauch Family Merit Scholarship in the School of Medicine. The scholarship, awarded annually to one incoming student with exceptional potential for an outstanding career in medicine and service, provided full tuition and fees, books, ancillaries and living expenses for all four years of medical school.  

“Rauch always had a vision for changing students’ lives and providing them with extraordinary opportunities,” Buckley wrote. “This recent gift from the Rauch Family Foundation will help make Dudley’s vision a reality, and we are deeply grateful for their commitment to build on his legacy.”

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