The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded Howard University College of Medicine a $1 million grant to support a multiyear initiative aimed at tackling the problem of disparities in the health care workforce. 

The grant supports Howard’s longstanding role in educating physicians and advancing health equity by investing across the full academic pipeline. Funding will expand programs such as the College of Medicine’s Mini-Med School, STEM outreach initiatives, and the Summer Health Professions Education Program, while also supporting medical student retention and support medical students interested in research and faculty productivity and leadership development. 

“This is an amazing development for our community and for the scholars and leaders we support at every stage of their professional development,” said Marjorie Gondré-Lewis, Ph.D., associate dean for faculty development and justice equity diversity and inclusion at the Howard University College of Medicine. “We appreciate the foundation’s commitment to equity and inclusion and its shared commitment to the Howard University mission.”

Howard University has consistently graduated more Black medical students than nearly any other U.S. medical school and maintains a historic legacy of training doctors who serve underserved communities.

The initiative aligns with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s national strategy to strengthen the health care workforce by investing in institutions that serve communities historically excluded from medical education and leadership.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the nation’s largest philanthropy dedicated to health. It works to improve health and advance equity through research, policy, and strategic investments, with a focus on communities most affected by structural barriers to health.

By investing in education, mentorship, and institutional capacity, the project aims to ensure that future clinicians and scholars are prepared not only to practice medicine but also to lead efforts to improve health outcomes in underserved communities. The grant is led by Gondré-Lewis and David A. Rose, M.D., as co-principal investigators, with Donna Grant-Mills, DDS, and College of Medicine Dean Andrea Hayes Dixon, M.D., serving as co-investigators.

“We are grateful for this transformational investment from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,” Hayes Dixon said. “Its commitment to health equity and to institutions that serve underserved communities will contribute to improved health outcomes nationwide.”

For more than 150 years, Howard University College of Medicine has played a central role in training African American physicians and advancing equitable health care. Although historically Black colleges and universities represent a small fraction of U.S. medical schools, they educate a disproportionate share of Black physicians and faculty. 

Top image: Students in Howard University’s Mini-Med School program show what they’ve learned about dentistry and medicine, part of an effort to spark future doctors and health careers.
 

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