Benefit for UC Medical Student Scholarship Fund Set for January 20, 2018

The University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine will host the 14th annual IvaDean Scholarship Benefit Concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, January 20, 2018 in the Medical Sciences Building’s Kresge Auditorium, 231 Albert Sabin Way.

The event, which features musical performances from College of Medicine faculty, staff and students, aims to support the IvaDean Medical Student Scholarship Fund for medical students in need of financial assistance. It is open to the public. Tickets are $5 for students and children under 12 years old and $15 for non-students.

The fund, named after Associate Dean Emeritus IvaDean Lair, was created by the outgoing medical class of 2003 as a way to honor Lair’s more than 50 years of service to the college and provide relief to students burdened by the escalating costs of medical school tuition. 

U.S. News and World Report ranked medical schools based on student debt and reported graduating physicians in 2015 at UC had an average debt of $182,941.

John Stiles, director, student financial services in the College of Medicine, says the scholarship fund has awarded $891,431 to students since its inception. Twenty medical students received a total of $108,000 in scholarship funds during the current 2017-18 academic year.

"With our nation’s steady increase in loan indebtedness for medical students, this scholarship addresses an important goal of helping students with demonstrated financial need to be able to afford their education and dreams of helping our society through the practice of medicine,” says Stiles.

"I believe it is important to note, also, that this scholarship has a grassroots feel to it. So many of the donors to this fund have been current students and recent alumni who give what they can to help their classmates and the generations of future students to come. This philanthropy and compassion exemplifies why our students at the UC College of Medicine are so special.”

Students who have benefited from the scholarship have been appreciative of the financial assistance as well as their interaction with the fund’s namesake.

For more information, call 513-558-5577 or email Lair at ivadean.lair@uc.edu. A silent auction starts at 5:30 pm. outside of Kresge Auditorium.