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UT HEALTH
SAN ANTONIO
UT HEALTH SAN ANTONIO:
ENDOWMENTS ARE CHANGING THE
TRAJECTORY OF HEALTH SCIENCE EDUCATION
By William L. Henrich, MD
Recently, The University of Texas Health Science Center (now
known as UT Health San Antonio) announced the naming of the
School of Medicine as a result of an extraordinary gift that significantly totality, the impact of the Longs’ philanthropy, with their new gift
expands the educational legacy of philanthropists Joe R. and Teresa
Lozano Long of Austin. The Longs initially gave $1 million to UT
Health in 1999 to support scholarships for medical students from
South Texas, and they followed this with a transformative $25 million
gift in 2008 to expand scholarships for students from across Texas
studying to be physicians, nurses, physician assistants or scientists.
Last month the Longs the contributed an additional $25 million
that will change the trajectory of health science education for Texas
and beyond. Their previous gift of $25 million established the Joe
R. and Teresa L. Long Scholarship Research and Teaching Fund, a
permanent endowment that supports student scholarships in med-
icine, nursing, graduate and physician assistant studies; advances
medical research in diabetes and other areas that affect the health of
the population; and sustains faculty through perpetual funding of
new endowed chairs that support efforts in priority areas of UT
Health’s education, research and patient care missions. Two new en-
dowed distinguished chairs have been established to date.
30 San Antonio Medicine • March 2017
Endowments deliver significant, sustained long-term impact as
the Long Fund clearly has demonstrated. When considered in its
of $25 million, now exceeds $61 million. In recognition and appre-
ciation of the new gift and the collective impact of the Longs’ pre-
vious commitments to UT Health, the UT System Board of Regents
enthusiastically authorized the naming of the School of Medicine
at UT Health San Antonio as the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long
School of Medicine.
The Longs’ new $25 million gift will establish a $1 million dis-
tinguished chair endowment for the dean of the School of Medicine;
a $4 million endowment to support scholarships for students from
throughout Texas who are attending UT Health and studying to be
physicians; and a $20 million President’s Endowment for Faculty
Excellence in Medicine to support priority faculty recruitment in
the School of Medicine.
The Longs have supported more than 290 scholarships to more
than 115 students. Today, 44 Long Physicians are practicing medicine
in South Texas and beyond — graduates of the Long-funded scholar-
ship programs that covered their medical school tuition for their entire