Mayo Clinic has announced a gift of $200 million from Jay Alix, noted philanthropist of Birmingham, Mich. and founder of the firm, AlixPartners. The endowment gift, the largest ever to the Mayo Clinic, is designated to Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. It recognizes the importance of educating the next generation of physicians who will carry on Mayo’s tradition of solving the most serious and complex medical challenges – one patient at a time.
In appreciation of his generous gift, which will expand scholarship opportunities, further innovation in the school’s curriculum, and establish a professorship, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine now will be known as: Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine.
“My primary philanthropic interests are medicine and education. Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine will offer an ideal opportunity to advance both fields,” says Mr. Alix. “Genetics, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality and other technologies are transforming medical research, education and practice. This gift will further enable Mayo’s medical school to recruit the best medical students and to create a curriculum that trains them to harness evolving radical advances in medical science and technology to the greatest benefit of patients.”
Originally established in Rochester, Minnesota, in 1972, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine is ranked among the top 10 medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. A national medical school with campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota, it is a transformative leader in medical education. With one of the largest faculty-to-student ratios in the country, Mayo’s medical school is able to offer students leading-edge clinical experiences at top ranked hospitals across all Mayo campuses.
Mr. Alix, a highly successful consultant credited with helping the American automotive industry out of the Great Recession, has a long-standing relationship with Mayo Clinic, generously giving his time and support. He is a grateful Mayo patient, a member of Mayo Clinic’s Board of Trustees and is the co-chair of Mayo’s Global Advisory Council. Alix began supporting Mayo Clinic in the 1980s when he modeled his own company after Mayo Clinic’s clinical practice model, a patient-centered approach that includes multi-specialty collaboration, cutting-edge technology, and dedicated staff focused on delivering the highest quality care to each individual patient.
“Mayo Clinic is honored to be the recipient of this transformative endowment,” says John Noseworthy, M.D., president and CEO of Mayo Clinic. “It enables faculty and students to explore new academic fields to better patient care, conduct research, apply new technologies and develop innovative teaching methods far into the future.”
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine has long been recognized as a leader in medical education. One of the original top schools selected nationally by the American Medical Association’s Accelerating Change in Medical Education initiative, the school introduced some of the nation’s first Science of Health Care Delivery curriculum to train medical students in the health care system advances necessary to deliver quality care. Mr. Alix’s gift will accelerate advances in the medical school’s curriculum, through dual-degree programs and pioneering approaches to teaching and learning.
The endowment also will support scholarships as part of Mayo Clinic’s commitment to increase access to the medical profession for student candidates regardless of their socio-economic backgrounds. Scholarships will help develop a strong health care workforce for the future, as the country faces a physician shortage projected to hit nearly 121,000 by the year 2030, according to a report from the Association of American Medical Colleges.
“Increasingly, scholarships are essential to medical schools,” says Fredric Meyer, M.D., Juanita Kious Waugh Executive Dean for Education, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. “They help attract diverse, high-potential learners who will care for our nation’s increasingly diverse patient populations.”
Dr. Meyer, who is also the dean of Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, notes that many high-potential college graduates who are passionate about medical careers need financial support to bring those dreams to fruition.
“Philanthropic gifts like Mr. Alix’s are an investment,” says Dr. Meyer. “They fuel Mayo Clinic’s mission and its commitment to delivering world-class, patient-centric care and medical education.” An endowment also provides a steady stream of funding in perpetuity so our faculty and staff can continue to be highly innovative in transforming medical education.”
“We tackle some of the biggest issues in medicine: new sciences like individualized and regenerative medicine, rising health care costs, health policy and physician burnout – and we are continuously advancing patient care through simulation, 3D surgical modeling, robotics and interdisciplinary team training,” says Dr. Noseworthy. “This gift will have a long-lasting impact as we boldly transform medical education and research training so the next generation of care providers can improve patient care, accelerate discovery and advance the practice of medicine.”
