FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 15, 2017
Contact:  Sheanna M. Spence, Assistant Director, Alumni Affairs and Community Relations, School of Medicine, 304-691-1639

Alumnus establishes diversity scholarship with Marshall School of Medicine

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Amir Rashid Piracha, M.D., has established a new scholarship with the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine to assist minority students with financial need.

Piracha is a 1995 graduate of the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and went on to become a fellowship-trained cardiologist in the greater Louisville, Kentucky, area. 

“As a student, I remember Amir as a caring, outstanding citizen and an all-around great individual,” said Cindy Warren, assistant dean for admissions and student affairs. “It is no surprise to me that he created an endowment to help other minorities succeed in medical school and beyond.”

The Dr. Amir Rashid Piracha Scholarship will be awarded to an entering first-year medical student who represents one of the “racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical professions relative to their numbers in the general population,” as defined by the Association of American Medical Colleges. It is designated for first-year medical students from West Virginia or Kentucky, with first preference given to students from Mercer County, West Virginia. The award is renewable for three additional years pending normal academic progress.

“My support to the School of Medicine is way overdue,” Piracha said. “No other student could have received the love and attention that I did. I hope and pray the next generation is as lucky as we are.”

For more information on the scholarships or to make a gift to the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, please contact Linda Holmes at 304-691-1711 or go to www.jcesom.marshall.edu/alumni.

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Date Posted: Monday, May 15, 2017