Students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine will no longer need to pay tuition fees after the school received a $1 billion donor gift from a former professor.

"Dr. Philip Ozuah, President and CEO of Montefiore Einstein, the umbrella organization for Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System, today announced that Albert Einstein College of Medicine has received a transformational gift from Ruth L. Gottesman, Ed.D., Chair of the Einstein Board of Trustees and Montefiore Health System board member," the college said in a statement.

The college said the gift will ensure a talented and diverse pool of individuals who may not otherwise have the means to pursue a medical education.

With this donation, all current fourth-year students will be reimbursed their spring 2024 semester tuition and, effective beginning in August of this year, all students moving forward will receive free tuition at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Yaron Tomer, the Marilyn and Stanley Katz Dean at Albert Einstein College of Medicine said in a statement: “This donation radically revolutionizes our ability to continue attracting students who are committed to our mission, not just those who can afford it. Additionally, it will free up and lift our students, enabling them to pursue projects and ideas that might otherwise be prohibitive. We will be reminded of the legacy this historic gift represents each spring as we send another diverse class of physicians out across the Bronx and around the world to provide compassionate care and transform their communities."

Albert Einstein College of Medicine was founded in 1955.

Dr. Gottesman joined Einstein’s Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center (CERC) in 1968.

At a time when learning problems were often unrecognised and misdiagnosed, she developed widely used screening, evaluation, and treatment modalities that have helped tens of thousands of children.

In 1992, she started the Adult Literacy Program at CERC, the first of its kind, which is still in operation.

In 1998, she was named the founding director of the Emily Fisher Landau Center for the Treatment of Learning Disabilities (at CERC).

Dr. Gottesman earned her bachelor’s degree at Barnard College and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is Clinical Professor Emerita of Pediatrics (Developmental Medicine) at Einstein.

Ruth L. Gottesman credited her husband David “Sandy” Gottesman for leaving the financial means which helped her in making the donations.

Ruth L. Gottesman, Ed.D., Chair of the Einstein Board of Trustees and Montefiore Health System board member, said: "I am very thankful to my late husband, Sandy, for leaving these funds in my care, and l feel blessed to be given the great privilege of making this gift to such a worthy cause."

David “Sandy” Gottesman was an American businessman, billionaire, and philanthropist.

He founded First Manhattan Co. (FMC), and was noted for his friendship with Warren Buffett.