The dean of Penn State College of Medicine, Dr. Karen Kim, has committed to giving Penn State $250,000 over the next five years. Her donation, shared with her husband Dr. Randy Chang, is meant to boost medical student scholarships and encourage others to follow her lead.

Kim and Chang are putting $50,000 toward establishing the Dean Karen Kim, MD Scholarship to benefit medical students. The other $200,000 will be gifted as a first-come, first-served challenge gift, allowing the College of Medicine to award a $2,500 scholarship annually.

“The quality of our health care depends on the investment we make in students. We must commit to removing financial barriers to our student’s success by growing our scholarship resources,” Kim said in a statement. “Throughout my career, I have witnessed the power of people’s generosity, and I have always believed that philanthropic support is key to an organization’s success. Randy and I are honored to help support our dedicated medical students in this way and eager to challenge others to join us!”

By the end of 2024, each newly endowed medical student scholarship fund with a minimum amount of $50,000 will be activated utilizing funds from Kim and Chang’s $200,000 challenge pool.

“The success of our students is at the forefront of every decision at our University, and this commitment from Dean Kim and Dr. Chang will offer critical support for our medical students to help them achieve academic, professional, and lifelong success,” said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi, who thanked Kim and Chang for their donation.

Anyone interested in learning about the scholarship can contact the College of Medicine development team at 717-531-8497.