NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TN Tribune) — Meharry Medical College announced today that it has received a $20 million gift from author and philanthropist, Mackenzie Scott. These funds provide a significant opportunity for Meharry to meaningfully address health disparities and advance health equity while our nation and world are positioned for a moment of enormous change.
Meharry’s unprecedented growth and change has been underway at the institution since 2015. The College intends to deploy these funds to advance its 2026 strategic vision and support the development of several vital programs and infrastructure improvements at Meharry and transform the College ahead of its sesquicentennial celebration.
Meharry’s 2026 strategic vision aims to develop a more diverse health care workforce; improve health equity through innovative approaches to treatment, research, public health and health policy; and define and implement a new model for delivering patient-centered care. This gift will allow Meharry to increase resources for students, improve research opportunities and allow students to have increased access to state-of-the-art campus and living facilities.
“MacKenzie’s generous donation is a testament to the positive impact Meharry has had on global health care and advancing health equity,” said Dr. James E.K. Hildreth, President and CEO of Meharry Medical College. “This gift now allows Meharry to invest time and money to expand our academic programs and much-needed infrastructure improvements. Meharry is grateful to MacKenzie Scott for her recognition of the significant contributions Meharrians have made since our founding and for investing in our future as a global leader in advancing health equity and reducing health disparities.”
Meharry continues to make strides to diversify the health care landscape as a top producer of primary care physicians. In dental care, currently, Meharry trains more than 40 percent of all Black dentists in the nation. The School of Graduate Studies and Research is consistently recognized as a top producer of African-American biomedical Ph.D. graduates. And, Meharry’s newest School of Applied Computational Sciences is advancing scholarship in key domains of data science by innovating through academic excellence and research, connecting to key health care, business and thought leaders in computational science and serving society at large.
About Meharry Medical College
Meharry Medical College, founded in 1876, is the nation’s largest private, independent historically Black academic health sciences center dedicated solely to educating minority and other health professionals. True to its heritage, it is a United Methodist Church-related institution. The College is particularly well known for its uniquely nurturing, highly effective educational programs; emerging preeminence in health disparities research; culturally sensitive, evidence-based health services and significant contribution to the diversity of the nation’s health professions workforce. Diverse Issues in Higher Education’s ranking of institutions annually lists Meharry as a leading national educator of African Americans with M.D. and D.D.S. degrees and Ph.D. degrees in the biomedical sciences. Visit www.mmc.edu to learn more.
