FOR RELEASE: Aug. 30, 2006

GALVESTON, Texas — Drs. Norma H. and Sanford A. Rubin, retired University of Texas Medical Branch faculty members, are establishing a scholarship that will recognize the university’s outstanding medical students, particularly those in financial need.

The Norma H. and Sanford A. Rubin Endowed Presidential Scholarship will offset recipients’ tuition, fees, book costs and living expenses, thus providing greater educational opportunities for future generations of medical students at the academic health center. Presidential scholarships are among the most prestigious of UTMB’s scholarship endowments. They provide $2,500 in annual support to recipients.

Norma Rubin said serving on a committee that assessed tuition rates for the School of Medicine made her particularly aware of students’ financial strain. She and her husband each chaired the school’s admission committee in the 1980s. “Both of us have been at UTMB many years, and we know of the increasing financial burden on the students,” said Norma Rubin, who worked at the university almost 30 years before she retired in January as a professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology. “I saw firsthand what it’s like. We had a lot of good applicants who wanted to come to UTMB, but they didn’t have the financial resources to attend.”

Sanford Rubin is a former professor of radiology and chief of thoracic imaging who worked at UTMB for more than 25 years until his retirement last year. He graduated from the university’s School of Medicine in 1966, paying approximately $360 in tuition each year as a student. Today, annual tuition and fees for UTMB medical students who are state residents is slightly more than $9,000. During the 2004-2005 academic year, 86 percent of the university’s medical students received some sort of financial aid. “Both Norma and I were actively involved in medical student teaching throughout our careers here,” Rubin said. “We want UTMB to continue to be competitive in enrolling highly qualified medical students, and I hope our contribution will play a part in that.”

UTMB President John D. Stobo said scholarships are a crucial part of the School of Medicine’s efforts to recruit exceptional students. “We are extremely grateful to the Rubins for their presidential scholarship, which will not only help us reward truly deserving students but also allow us to engage more prospective students who have considered enrolling in our medical school,” Stobo said. “We are fortunate to have faculty members like the Rubins who, even in retirement, are still working for our students’ best interests.”

Dr. Steven A. Lieberman, vice dean for academic affairs in UTMB’s School of Medicine, said scholarships can be pivotal in the race to attract the best students. “In the past, University of Texas medical schools filled their incoming classes through a computer match, through which students could hold only one acceptance at a time,” Lieberman said. “With a recently approved statewide process known as ‘rolling admissions,’ students can hold several acceptances for a period of time, placing the schools in a more competitive position with each other to recruit the best, most diverse classes. Scholarships, like the one graciously established by the Rubins, can certainly help us attract those undecided students.” Lieberman is a professor of internal medicine and the Dr. and Mrs. A.H. Potthast Professor in Teaching Excellence.
 

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Public Affairs Office
301 University Boulevard, Suite 3.102
Galveston, Texas 77555-0144
www.utmb.edu