Texas Christian University is naming its medical school the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine in honor of the longtime TCU philanthropist. Marion’s estate and The Burnett Foundation have made a second $25 million gift to the Anne W. Marion Endowment to support the school operations moving forward.
The TCU School of Medicine has been through a few name changes since it opened with 60 medical students in 2019. It began as the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, as Fort Worth’s Health Science Center was a partner in the medical school in addition to running its osteopathic medical school.
But the public-private partnership would not last. After disagreements over governance and alleged breaches of trust (the Fort Worth Report details the relationship and its end here), TCU and UNTHSC officially parted ways in January 2022. After the split, TCU announced plans for a new medical school campus in Fort Worth’s medical innovation district in the city’s Near Southside neighborhood. Construction is set to begin this year on a 100,000-square-foot campus that will house 240 medical students and is scheduled to be completed in 2024.
The Burnett Foundation’s first-ever gift was made to TCU to create an endowment at the university, and the foundation has made gifts to nearly every part of the school over the years. The Burnett family has longstanding ties to Fort Worth, going back to Marion’s grandfather, Samuel Burk Burnett, who drove cattle from Texas to Kansas City, amassing a fortune and building up the now famous 6666 ranch. The Four Sixes, as it is known, is being purchased by Texan filmmaker Taylor Sheridan, who included the ranch in the fourth season of his show Yellowstone.
Over the years, the Burnett Foundation has been a significant booster of the City of Fort Worth, focusing on the arts and humanities, education, community affairs, and health and human services.
“During her lifetime, Anne Marion’s support of the university through her service as a trustee and her philanthropy played a vital role in strengthening TCU’s academic profile and reputation. Her investment of $50 million in our School of Medicine enhances her legacy and will have a momentous influence on TCU for the next 150 years,” TCU Chancellor Victor J.Boschini, Jr. said via release.
The $50 million in gifts from the Burnetts are part of a larger $1 billion goal for the university’s endowment campaign. The school will be known as the Burnett School of Medicine. Its fourth class began this month, bringing the school to full enrollment, and its inaugural class will graduate next spring.
“The Anne W. Marion Endowment will provide funds to support our students, faculty, and programming for the medical school and continue to fuel our mission of transforming health care by inspiring Empathetic Scholars ®,” said Dr. Stuart D. Flynn, the founding dean of the School of Medicine via release. “This generosity empowers us to continue recruiting and nurturing talented and diverse students who are shaping the future of medicine and health care in an abundance of ways.”
Author
