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The University of Pennsylvania has received a $125 million donation for a new tuition-free nurse practitioner program within Penn Nursing, the university announced Monday.
The gift comes from Penn alum Leonard A. Lauder, chairman emeritus of the Estée Lauder Companies. It is the largest gift ever made to a U.S. nursing school, according to the press release.
The program will cover all tuition and fees for fellows who enroll full-time in the two-year primary-care nurse practitioner program, allowing them to enter the workforce free of graduate school debt. Those with additional financial need will receive stipends to help with living expenses.
Fellows are expected to complete at least 50 percent of their clinical work in the greater Philadelphia area and commit to practicing in an underserved community for two years after graduation.
Penn Nursing will select 10 fellows to begin classes this fall, gradually expanding each year until 2026, when it will reach the annual target enrollment of 40 students.
“This is the most timely and consequential gift not only for our university but for our country,” said former Penn president Amy Gutmann. “It is unprecedented in its potential to address America’s most critical need of providing primary health care to all who currently lack it by investing in nurses.”
