Georganne Vartorella, M.D. (C’73, M’82) and her husband, Richard Statesir, M.D., have made a landmark bequest commitment to establish the Vartorella-Statesir Endowed Scholarship Fund. The scholarships will support students during all four undergraduate years, providing access for highly talented first-generation college students, as well as those from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds who might not otherwise be able to afford a Georgetown education.
“Rich and I have been in health care for three decades,” says Vartorella, a member of Georgetown’s Board of Regents and the McCourt Board of Advisors. “In many ways, recruiting a diverse student body is similar to optimizing the equitable delivery of health care. In both cases, to achieve your goals, you’ve got to remove the barriers to access. And I think that overcoming those barriers in education begins fundamentally with scholarships.”
To ensure that students with financial need can fully flourish throughout their time at Georgetown, the gift will be used to establish Vartorella-Statesir Thriving Grants, which will enable undergraduates to participate in enriching experiences beyond the classroom.
When celebrating Georganne and Rich at a meeting of the Board of Regents, President John J. DeGioia thanked them for “the transformative gift that they have given this community” and “the service and example that they have set.”
“We could not be more excited,” he said, “by the impact that this gift will have on our students, who will have the life-changing opportunity to attend Georgetown because of their support.”