St. George’s University Announces Tuition Scholarship Program for 12 Inner-City Medical Students

Names of Staff in Photo: Denise Lewis, Barbara Landon, Lorraine Steele, Jennifer Durst (seated left to right), Narasimhan Prabhakar, Corie Christopher, Terry Ruthrauff, John Pettus (standing left to right). Not pictured: Dirk Burkhardt.
Dr. Leon G. Smith

St. George’s University School of Medicine (SGUSOM) has announced a new scholarship program for students who live in inner-city and/or medically underserved communities in the United States.  The Dr. Leon G. Smith Scholarship of Promise is a four-year full-tuition scholarship program offered to qualifying students eager to enter medical school, but stymied by financial limitations.  For 12 young men and women, this new program is likely their only opportunity to follow their dream of becoming a physician.

The Scholarship of Promise program is named after renowned physician and specialist in infectious disease and internal medicine Dr. Leon G. Smith of New Jersey, who is a strong supporter of St. George’s University.  Previous Chairman of Medicine of St. Michael’s Medical Center and Seton Hall’s P.G. School of Medicine, and Chief of Infectious Disease for 30 years, Dr. Smith has trained more than 250 fellows and has published over 250 publications on infectious disease.  He is also a professor of medicine and preventive Medicine at The New Jersey Medical School.

This scholarship is a powerful representation of St. George’s University’s commitment to improving health care for those in greatest need, and Dr. Smith’s unbridled humanitarian efforts throughout his home state of New Jersey.  As a Scholarship of Promise recipient, each student will agree to pursue training in primary or family care, in addition to dedicating seven years of post-residency service to a medically underserved or inner-city community.  If a student chooses to pursue training and practice in areas outside of primary care and family medicine, their scholarship would then convert to a loan, with St. George’s University directing all of the payments to a local nonprofit providing primary care in the student’s home community.

St. George’s University Chancellor Charles Modica said, “At SGU, we believe in removing as many barriers as possible for students who are seeking the opportunity to access a world-class medical school.  We will provide this educational opportunity to 12 students in various inner-city and/or medically underserved communities across the country, so a career in primary or family care medicine can be within reach.  In return, these future doctors will go on to practice in inner cities and/or medically underserved communities across the US.”

Chancellor Modica added, “President Obama recently stressed the need for the US to make a greater investment in primary care by doing more to reward medical students who choose a career in this particular area of medicine.  At SGU, the percentage of our students going on to practice primary and family care medicine is double that of other medical schools.  We now want to do even more to help the nation accomplish this important goal the President has set.”

Dr. Smith grew up in Yonkers, NY in a relatively poor, but strong Lebanese family in a traditional household with firm Catholic service values.  His father died as a complication of poor surgery when Dr. Smith was only 15 years old.  Thereafter, he dedicated his life to becoming the finest doctor humanly possible, and became world renowned in his capacity to detect infectious and mysterious diseases.  Dr. Smith is the recipient of many awards, including the Clara Barton, III Award, Governor’s Award, Master of American College of Physicians, Mentor Award, etc.   He is a Commander of the Knight of St. Gregory of the Vatican, as well.

All of Dr. Smith’s accomplishments could not have been possible without his mother’s bleeding hands from working in a carpet factory, and his sisters working in various hard jobs, contributing their salaries to his tuition.  “When I was a child, the very idea of attending medical school seemed near impossible.  But, because of my family’s hard work, guidance and commitment to education, I was able to become the professional I am today,” said Dr. Leon G. Smith.  “I want to give inner-city students the same opportunities that I was fortunate enough to have, so they have the resources and tools needed to reach new heights in their education and future careers.  I also want them to be able to give back to their communities after they complete their training, without having to worry about choosing to practice a specialty that might allow them to repay their student loans more quickly or easily.”

Dr. Smith gave up a potential career as a professional baseball player to pursue a career in medicine.  He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Georgetown Medical School and trained at Yale and National Institutes of Health (NIH), prior to joining The New Jersey Medical School and St. Michael’s Medical School in 1962.  He met his wife Peggy, a nurse, at Georgetown and the couple has been married for more than 51 years.  They have five children - a lawyer and four physicians.  All of the Smiths’ children have followed in their parents’ interests - especially Stephen, an infectious disease physician at St. Michael’s Medical Center, who has made significant contributions to Newark’s poor and suffering, particularly through his award-winning HIV/AIDS care and discovery program.

Dr. Smith and his wife have devoted their lives to serving the poor and sick of Newark, opening the first free clinic for patients in the city - the only Leprosy clinic in the state - and starting a free consultation service for doctors who exhaust all resources in difficult-to-diagnose cases.  The Smiths even spent their honeymoon in Jamaica doing work at a Leprosarium - a hospital for the treatment of patients with Leprosy. 

Dr. Smith believes he could not have accomplished all of this without the ongoing support from the community.  “I would like to express great gratitude to the St. Michael’s Medical Center’s entire medical staff, employees, and administrator; especially to the Archbishops of Newark and the Vatican for their support for our work in Newark.  There are many government officials, local, state, and federal, whose support and encouragement are much appreciated; too many to numerate at this time,” said Dr. Smith.

The application process for the Scholarship of Promise will begin this fall, first in the State of New Jersey with a particular emphasis on the city of Newark.  The deadline for applications is October 1, 2009 to join the January 2010 freshman class at SGU.  Candidates for this award must submit an application for admission to SGUSOM and be accepted into the four-year Doctor of Medicine program.  Upon acceptance into the medical degree program, the student’s scholarship application will be reviewed by SGU.  Additional information is available by writing to sguenrolment@sgu.edu (please write "Scholarship of Promise" in the subject field).  Additional information about SGU can be found at: www.sgu.edu.

The first two scholarship recipients from New Jersey will be announced in November of this year.  The Scholarship of Promise will roll out over the next two years, offering full-tuition scholarships to students in additional cities, including Brooklyn, NY; Manhattan, NY; Oakland, CA; Miami, FL; and Chicago, IL; as well as two scholarships for students from medically underserved rural communities.

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Published on 9/25/09