MGH Institute of Health Professions Raises $367,000 for Student Scholarships

Money raised at the MGH Institute’s annual Gala goes directly to students, such as the Knowles Fellows, many of whom are shown with members of the Knowles family (seated).

MGH Institute of Health Professions raised more than $367,000 for student scholarships at its 8th annual Gala on November 5.

More than 300 people attended the event, held at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel, to support students in who attend the Boston health sciences graduate school. The final amount raised included $62,400 pledged by audience members during a live support-a-student auction.

Since the first Gala in 2007, more than $2.7 million has been raised for student scholarships.

“The scholarships we are able to award each year promote access to a professional education for a broad spectrum of our students who will go on to make exceptional contributions in their fields and touch the lives of many patients, and their families and communities,” said President Janis P. Bellack, PhD, RN, FAAN.

Proceeds from the Gala provide scholarship support for students, especially those of limited means, enabling them to fulfill their dreams of attending the MGH Institute to become health care leaders in their fields.

The evening’s theme - “Elevating Research. Expanding Knowledge. Enhancing Impact.” – highlighted the increased amount research being conducted at the Institute, and how it impacts the educational experiences of the school’s 1,400 students.

John V. Guttag, PhD, Honorary Trustee and the Dugald C. Jackson Professor of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, was honored for his efforts to increase the Institute’s focus on research, recruit a nationally recognized cadre of faculty, and launch a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences program. He spent 12 years on the Board of Directors.

“John’s eloquent and passionate advocacy directly led the Trustees making the strategic investment necessary to elevate the Institute’s commitment to research,” said George Thibault, MD, Chair of the Board of Trustees, who noted that Dr. Guttag was the driving force behind the school creating a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences in 2012. “We have benefited from his tireless efforts, and thank him for his long-standing and steadfast support of the Institute.”

Peter Brown, Chief of Staff for Partners HealthCare System President and CEO Dr. Gary Gottlieb, was the event’s master of ceremonies. The MGH Institute is the only degree-granting affiliate of Partners.

Four event sponsors each donated $25,000 to support student scholarships:

• Sumner Brown
• Massachusetts General Hospital
• MinuteClinic
• Dr. and Mrs. Charles A. Sanders

Five sponsors each donated $10,000: Elizabeth “Trish” and Mark S. Joyce; the Knowles Family; MGH Nurses’ Alumnae Association; Putnam Investments; and George and Barbara Thibault.

Two members of the MGH Institute Board of Trustees served as co-chairs for the event: “Trish” Joyce, whose father, Dr. Charles Sanders, was one of the Institute’s founders; and Angelleen Peters-Lewis, PhD, RN, Senior Vice President for Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island.

Other members of the Gala Committee were: Pamela D’Arrigo; Julie Atwood Drake, Faculty Emerita; Margery Eramo, SON ‘57, MGH Nurses’ Alumnae Association; Bette Ann Harris, PT ‘83, ‘02, Faculty Emerita; Charles Landry, McCall & Almy; Steven Krichmar, Putnam Investments; Anthony Spirito; and Amy Waggoner, MinuteClinic.

MGH Institute of Health Professions is an innovative and interprofessional graduate school with post-baccalaureate, direct entry-level master’s and doctorate, and post-professional programs in nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, speech-language pathology, health professions education, and a PhD in rehabilitation sciences. The only degree-granting affiliate of Partners HealthCare System, the MGH Institute offers its more than 1,400 students unparalleled opportunities to learn and work alongside expert practitioners in a variety of hospital, clinical, community, and educational settings. The school, which has graduated close to 5,400 students since its 1977 founding by Massachusetts General Hospital, is fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Several of the school’s programs are highly ranked by U.S. News & World Report, and for the past five years has been named a Great College to Work For by The Chronicle of Higher Education, most recently in 2014 when it was the only college in Boston to make the publication’s Honor Roll.