When Washington State University’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine celebrated 10 years of homegrown health care in 2025, the tributes poured in for the school’s namesake and his vision of affordable medical education to serve not only Washington’s students, but also its communities.
Tom and Barbara Wilson share Dr. Floyd’s belief in that vision.
“From the outset, we were impressed by Elson Floyd’s vision for a Washington-centric medical school that caters to Washington-based students and produces doctors who will come back and serve rural and underserved areas of Washington,” Barbara said.
In 2025, the Wilsons recognized that the need to support medical students is greater than ever. Relied-upon sources of financial aid such as federal funding and debt ceilings had been eliminated or reduced. The Wilsons chose a path to give generously and invite others to do the same.
The Wilsons partnered with WSU’s College of Medicine to match $1 million in philanthropic gifts to endowed student scholarships, determined to help WSU’s Coug docs succeed and enable them to return to the communities that need them the most.
“These matching funds are to help reduce the huge cost of going to medical school,” Tom said. “We’re trying to build it to $10,000 each year for each student to get that cost down so they can afford to work in the rural communities and stay out of student debt.”
A second $1 million gift for matching scholarship funds from Barbara Stephanus, a longtime supporter of medical research in Washington and first-time WSU donor, kept the momentum going.
With $2 million overall in matching funds, the College of Medicine launched the Medicine Multiplied scholarship campaign last fall with a goal of immediately making a medical degree more accessible, affordable, and attainable for Washington students. The campaign has raised more than $1 million for student scholarships so far and will run through 2026.
“Our future physicians are facing unprecedented challenges to financing their education,” said College of Medicine Dean Dr. James Record. “The generosity of Tom and Barbara Wilson and Barbara Stephanus made our matched scholarship campaign possible, and Cougs have already stepped up to support our students. With this momentum, we can continue to fulfill Dr. Floyd’s vision and meet the growing health care needs of our state.”
Longtime and new WSU supporters alike looking to future of medicine
The Wilsons, retirees from Seattle, have supported WSU for more than 30 years. They were among the first donors to the College of Medicine. They are also longtime supporters of the women’s rowing program at WSU.
For WSU’s MD program, the Wilsons saw an opportunity to make a greater impact through a matching grant, which allowed other donors to double their contributions to their endowed scholarships.
“Each MD can treat up to 150,000 patients in the course of their career,” Barbara Wilson noted. “That’s quite the reach.”
Barbara Stephanus, also based in Seattle, is of a like mind. Seeing the impact federal borrowing limits would have on aspiring physicians, she also wanted to support student scholarships and encourage others to do the same.
“With this scholarship match, we are meeting the growing needs of our future doctors,” said Libby Manthei, senior director of development at the college. “Our donors set an ambitious goal for us. We intend to multiply their impact and the impact of every donor that gives to scholarships. Donors have until the end of the year to double their donation to current-use scholarships through this match program.”
To learn more about making a matched gift to the scholarship campaign — and its transformative impact on WSU’s more than 300 future physicians in training — visit the Medicine Multiplied website or contact Libby Manthei at elizabeth.manthei@wsu.edu.