UNBC has secured a $2 million private pledge to the Northern MedicalPrograms Trust that is completing the original fundraising program morethan one year ahead of schedule. The announcement was made today byUNBC President Don Cozzetto at the North Central Municipal Associationconference in Williams Lake. It is the second-largest donation ever received by UNBC.

Since 2002, communities throughout the region have been raising moneyto support students in the new Northern Medical Program. The funds areintended to support the recruitment, education, and retention of healthprofessionals in northern and rural communities. The original goal was$6 million by 2008 and it has been reached with the announcement todayof a $2 million pledge from an anonymous donor.

“What a tremendous accomplishment for the whole region; one that wecould not have achieved without the support of communities,corporations, and thousands of individual donors,” says UNBC PresidentDon Cozzetto. “This show-of-support by a region for an educationalprogram may be unprecedented in Canadian history. It shows that theNorth has been prepared to put its money where its mouth is in terms ofsupporting the educational resources it needs for community vitality.”

The $6 million endowment will allow for about $300,000 to be paid outto students every year, forever. Currently, the Northern MedicalProgram admits 24 new students per year and the program’s firststudents will graduate next year. Since the launch of the NorthernMedical Programs Trust, it now includes provisions to support otherhealth science programming at UNBC. The funds are being managed by aBoard that includes representatives of northern communities, UNBC, theNorthern Medical Program, and corporate partners.
 
“It has been an honour to have been involved with the University, themedical program, and other communities through this project,” says NMPTChair Marylin Davies of Terrace. “It is rare for so many communities tobe united behind a common program, but it shows what can be achievedwhen we work together.”

To date, 20 communities have pledged to support the original NMPT goal,with the pledge amounts calculated on the basis of their populations.Tumbler Ridge and Burns Lake were the first communities to realizetheir pledge amounts.

NMPT members:

Burns Lake

Dawson Creek

Fort St. James

Fort St. John 

Fraser Lake

Hazelton

Houston

Hudson's Hope 

Mackenzie

Masset

McBride

Quesnel

Pouce Coupe

Prince George

Smithers

Terrace

Tumbler Ridge

Valemount

Wells 

Contact:
Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC – 250.960.5622 

Media Downloads

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UNBC President, Don Cozzetto

The Dr. Donald Rix Northern Health Sciences Centre at UNBC's Prince George campus.

Bill Schlamp, NMP student from Vanderhoof.

Peter Eppinga, NMP student from Masset on Haida Gwaii.