Marian University gets $29 million to offer scholarships and upgrade medical school

Marian University recently received $29 million from the Tom & Julie Wood Family Foundation. The financial gift — the largest in the university’s 173 year history — will provide more scholarship and academic opportunities for students.

“[The gift] allows us to elevate everything we're doing here – really put money and resources behind excellent education for our students,” said Amanda Wright, dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine. “And also put money behind lowering their debt burden, through scholarships.”

The funds will go to the College of Osteopathic Medicine to establish endowed scholarships for primary care physicians who want to practice in Indiana and develop new clinical rotation sites for students. 

This will give students more experiences providing care in different health care settings in urban and rural areas. It will also pay for facility improvements to the Michael A. Evans Center for Health Sciences to allow for more research opportunities. 

The school will also rename its medical building to the Tom and Julie Wood College of Osteopathic Medicine. 

"This generous gift will have a lasting impact on the Wood College of Osteopathic Medicine, allowing us to enhance our educational offerings, expand clinical training opportunities, and ultimately improve healthcare outcomes in Indiana,” Marian University President Daniel J. Elsene stated in a press release.

Tom Wood entered Indianapolis’ automotive industry in 1967 and grew the business into at least 12 automotive brands with 13 dealerships. The family has used their earnings to support multiple health initiatives in Indiana. Wood died of cancer in February 2010.

Julie Wood said her late husband would be proud that the funds will support an institution with a “commitment to central Indiana and enhancing the community that has done so much for our family.”

“On behalf of my entire family, we are deeply honored to support Marian University and have great admiration for Marian’s commitment to recruit and educate physicians for the state of Indiana,” said Wood. “We believe in the mission of the school and its commitment to training compassionate and skilled healthcare professionals.” 

In 2013, the college became Indiana’s second medical school, and the first to open in the state in more than 100 years. This year, just under half of the graduating class matched with residencies in Indiana, with nearly 85% of them filling physician shortages in areas such as primary care, emergency medicine and psychiatry.

“This idea of how do we use this money to revolutionize medicine for our community, it's really, how do we partner with our other medical school, our other health professions, to really meet the needs of what we have here in Indiana,” Wright said. “And stop saying we have a healthcare shortage, and really being a state that people look to.”

Nearly 30% of Marian University students are from underrepresented backgrounds and 74% of students are from Indiana. Almost all students receive scholarships and grants.

Contact WFYI’s health reporter Elizabeth Gabriel at egabriel@wfyi.org

Side Effects Public Media is a health reporting collaboration based at WFYI in Indianapolis. We partner with NPR stations across the Midwest and surrounding areas — including KBIA and KCUR in Missouri, Iowa Public Radio, Ideastream in Ohio and WFPL in Kentucky.