*NOT FOR EXTERNAL DISTRIBUTION*
Source: The Tennessean
Author: Beth Warren
Date: September 23, 2023
Meharry Medical College will use a $600,000 donation from HCA Healthcare, announced during a ceremony Monday, to help educate future data scientists.
The money will help with paid internships and scholarships over four years for graduate students in the School of Applied Computational Sciences at Meharry, one of the few Black medical schools in the United States and a leading educator of Black doctors and other medical professionals nationally.
Less than 2% of data scientists are Black and the numbers in the artificial intelligence field are "vanishingly small," Dr. James Hildreth, the college's president and CEO, told The Tennessean.
Meharry, one of the nation’s oldest and largest historically Black academic health sciences colleges, founded the applied computational sciences school in 2021. It now offers studies in data science and biomedical data science through two Ph.D. programs and three master's programs, with 102 students enrolled this fall,
"Finances continue to be a barrier for many students to get into these programs," along with medical and dental programs, said Hildreth, a renowned epidemiologist who helped guide the nation through the height of the COVID pandemic.
"This gift from HCA will make a huge difference for our students."
"The amount of data that is being accumulated is astounding," from patients' visits to devices worn to monitor health, Hildreth said. "What data science does is allow us to elevate ourselves above the data to be able to see patterns."
This can guide doctors on which drugs to prescribe and which treatments to use, he said.
Through the partnership between Meharry and the health care system, college faculty can recommend students for internships in HCA's Information Technology Group. And both scholars and interns will have access to recruiting events, year-round leadership development opportunities and guest lectures, according to HCA.
"Our organization is committed to increasing access to healthcare careers across the Middle Tennessee community," said Mitch Edgeworth, president of the HCA Healthcare TriStar Division.
Gift part of larger HCA pledge
Monday's gift to Meharry is part of HCA's $10 million pledge to historically Black colleges and universities and Hispanic serving institutions nationwide. Past donations have been awarded to two other historically Black Nashville colleges, Fisk University and Tennessee State University.
"It is a pleasure to work with Meharry Medical College, a long-standing and respected institution here in Nashville," said Sherri Neal, chief diversity officer for HCA Healthcare.
Currently, about 90% of students at Meharry — which includes medical, dental, graduate studies, applied computational sciences and global health schools — are African American, Hildreth said.
"Our goal is to attract as many underrepresented minorities into our programs as possible," Hildreth said.
The HCA donation will allow the college to attract strong candidates and hire additional faculty, Hildreth said.
Third major donation for Meharry
The HCA gift is the third large donation to Meharry this year.
Bloomburg Philanthropies, the foundation of former New York City mayor and entrepreneur Michael Bloomberg announced a $600 million donation to Meharry and three other historically Black medical schools in July, on the heels of a $100 million donation to the schools in 2020 for student loan debt.
Meharry's portion, $175 million of this year's Bloomburg gift, nearly doubled the college's endowment and is the largest gift since its founding in 1876 as the South's first Black medical school.
An anonymous donor bequeathed $20 million to Meharry earlier this month. Hildreth credited the team at the college.
"I think the results are becoming obvious. Meharry is a very special place."