Health & Environment: Stories from the Called to Be campaign

Read about the many gifts that allowed Georgetown to build on decades of momentum across our academic health and science center, global health programs, environmental initiatives, and more.

Topics

Educating exceptional leaders

Deepening our expertise

Driving medical innovation

Protecting our common home

Educating future practitioners and leaders

• Philanthropists Joan and Jeff Ferrill commit $8M for Georgetown University medical school scholarships (October 1, 2026)
• ‘We’ve been blessed’: transformational bequest will provide scholarships for STEM undergraduates, medical students (February 2, 2026)
• Reducing nursing student debt to unlock career possibilities (September 9, 2025)
• Berkley family’s $25M gift commitment to transform, rename Georgetown’s School of Nursing (May 12, 2025) 
• Georgetown School of Medicine opens new student spaces (May 2, 2025)
• Shrinking financial barriers for future physicians (February 3, 2025)
• Donors Patty (NHS’93) and Chris (B’93) Mosher (Parents’24) on how Georgetown values led them to establish a Student Resource Fund for Nurses (December 4, 2024)
• $1M scholarship gift to School of Nursing provides loan relief for dozens of Georgetown students (November 8, 2024)
• Georgetown couple gives thanks with gift to School of Health (June 3, 2024)
• Georgetown’s School of Nursing receives grant to upgrade simulation center (September 8, 2023)
• Honoring one life by transforming others: Fellowships for health care professionals devoted to working in underserved communities (December 7, 2020)  
• Gift supports geriatric nursing education (November 4, 2020)
• Education as a springboard: The Alice & Russell True Endowed Scholarship in the School of Medicine (April 13, 2020)  
• Joseph and Nicole Panarelli Scholarship for students in the Georgetown University School of Medicine (March 3, 2019) 
• Health Care Management and Policy Professional Development Fund (February 1, 2019)

Deepening our expertise

• ‘Give so much that it hurts:’ Bequest from Paul and Chandler Tagliabue will provide funding for Georgetown programs, medical research (April 29, 2026)
• Alumnus endows pharmacology professorship (January 29, 2026)
• Three orthopaedic surgery faculty members officially named as D’Aniello Family Endowed Chairs (October 22, 2025) 
• Enduring support for faculty, student research in human science (August 5, 2025)
• $3M gift establishes chair and fund for Business of Health Initiative at McDonough School of Business (June 25, 2025)
• Georgetown opens new Thrive Center for Children, Families, and Communities (December 16, 2024)
• Clark Foundation supports operations and Innovation Hub for Georgetown’s new Thrive Center (December 16, 2024) 
• Marriott Foundation supports endowed professorship for Georgetown’s new Thrive Center (December 16, 2024)
• Longtime MedStar Health donors support endowed positions for Georgetown’s new Thrive Center, plus addiction program (December 16, 2024)
• Lambert Foundation supports outpatient program and research for Georgetown’s new Thrive Center (December 16, 2024)
• Dedicated donor helps expand Ethics Lab coursework (October 16, 2023) 
• Changing lives together: Gift to to Georgetown University Medical Center endows chair of orthopaedics and supports Medical/Surgical Pavilion (June 1, 2022)
• The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation establishes chair in Child, Adolescent, and Family Mental Health at Georgetown (October 12, 2022)  
• Academic medical-legal partnerships: Foundation helps bring together law faculty to build community, share resources (October 21, 2019)
• Georgetown University Health Justice Alliance: Preparing tomorrow’s leaders in health and law (March 3, 2019)

Driving medical innovation and impact

• Grant supports brain health research at GUMC (July 9, 2026)
• Bringing GI cancer research and therapies to the bedside (April 12, 2026)
• Gift strengthens support for parents with cancer and their families (February 18, 2025)
• A multiplying effect on cancer prevention (October 7, 2024)
• $10M gift commitment from the Leonsis family supports entrepreneurship program, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital’s new pavilion (September 10, 2024)
• Fellowship fund helps shed light on a little-known autoimmune disorder (June 24, 2024)
• Leading by example: Planned gift supports Fund a Fellow for Parkinson’s Program (February 5, 2024)
• MedStar Georgetown University Hospital opens Verstandig Pavilion on Hilltop Campus (December 19, 2023)
• Jane Loeffler, Ph.D.: ‘We want to see this remarkable program grow in reach and impact’ (October 11, 2023)
• Donor-supported GUMC Gap Fund continues to advance innovative research (September 15, 2023)
• Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation makes gift to address disparities in cancer care (May 11, 2022)  
• New funds expand probiotics and immunity research at Georgetown (February 12, 2021)
• Donor-funded undergraduate student researchers join Katz in the fight against COVID-19 (December 8, 2020)
• Going with your gut: Grants enable research into microbiota’s role in colorectal cancer (March 26, 2019) 
• Making cancer a curable disease: Dr. Scholl Chair in Medical Oncology (February 1, 2019)
• ‘Paying It Forward’ to help tomorrow’s children: Solomon James Rodan Pediatric Stroke Research Fund (September 8, 2016) 
• Partners in Research brings together donors and researchers to support early-stage studies (April 12, 2018)
• Immunotherapy cancer research elevated thanks to new fluorescent microscope at Georgetown Lombardi (November 27, 2017)

Protecting our common home

• $5M gift to endow a faculty chair fuels growth of Earth Commons (December 4, 2023)
• Family of Henry J. Blommer (C’26) donates $3M to support sustainable business education at Georgetown McDonough (October 5, 2021)     
• $3.2M gift to create Steers Center for Global Real Estate’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Solutions Group (January 27, 2021)