Quinnipiac University President Judy Olian announced a $5 million matching gift commitment from two members of Class of 1971 to support scholarships for students at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine Monday night.
In an university-wide email, Olian thanked Quinnipiac alumni Barbara and Bill Weldon for “their continued generosity.”
“Their $5 million gift is offered as a 1:1 match to encourage other donors to give, and by doing so, enjoy the satisfaction of seeing contributions doubled,” Olian wrote. “With the support offered through this consequential gift, QU Netter students benefiting from the Weldon’s groundbreaking commitment will be substantially less burdened by the cost of their education and will be able instead to focus on their passion and purpose in achieving a medical degree.”
Matching a donation is when someone matches the original gift contribution to a specific cause, therefore increasing the gift, per Kindful.
Bill Weldon is a former chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson and he and his wife have been among Quinnipiac’ most steadfast supporters, according to the university’s press release.
Their aim is to empower future doctors, especially those who plan to enter fields such as family medicine, rural medicine, general internal medicine and pediatrics.
“The first goal when people talked about creating a medical school at Quinnipiac was to support general practitioners because there’s a tremendous shortage of them right now in our country,” said Barbara Weldon in the press release.
In 2021, there were 268,297 primary care physicians in the U.S. In 2022, the number only rose up to 270,660 alongside the 26,455 physician assistants also working primary care, according to the 2023 State of Primary Care Workforce document by the Bureau of Health Workforce.
To put it in perspective, the U.S. population in 2022 was 333.3 million. On paper, that constitutes about 1,121 people for one primary care worker.
Beyond addressing the shortage, the Weldons also acknowledge that medical school is “incredibly expensive.”
“Their gift won’t just change the lives of future doctors,” said Nick Wormley, vice president for development and alumni affairs in the press release. “It will also change the lives of the patient they will treat.”
In the press release, Quinnipiac officials invite its community to participate in the Weldons’ campaign. As this is a matching gift campaign, every contribution will be doubled.
“The generous matching gift from the Weldons is already making a significant impact by reducing student debt and enhancing our ability to engage with supporters across Connecticut and beyond,” said Phillip Boiselle, dean of School of Medicine in the press release. “Together, this support enables us to cultivate diverse cohorts of future physicians who are empowered to pursue their passion for patient-centered, compassionate care, transforming the health and well-being of the communities they serve.”
This is not the first time the Weldons have made a significant donation. In 2013, they donated $1 million to endow the William and Barbara Weldon Chair in Rehabilitation Medicine, now the Dean’s Chair in Medicine, and in 2019 they donated $15 million to “advance the university’s strategic priorities, including academic innovation, inclusive excellence, lifelong learning and community impact,” according to the press release.
