WCA Foundation Awards Northwestern Health Sciences University $18,000 Grant to Provide Scholarships for Low Income and Minority Students

Northwestern Health Sciences University (NWHSU), the premier evidence-based integrative health learning center, announces that it is the recipient of an $18,000 grant awarded from the WCA Foundation. The money from this grant will provide scholarships for low-income and minority students, with a special preference for female students. NWHSU’s goal is to provide opportunities for all female students, regardless of income or ethnicity, to achieve or gain self-sufficiency and access to education through several new scholarships.

In light of recent events, the funds are also able to support NWHSU’s faculty and student needs resulting from COVID-19 and the related public health response.

“As the region’s leading integrative health educational institution, Northwestern Health Sciences University considers its impact on the next generation of integrative health care practitioners seriously,” said Deb Bushway, Ph.D., president and CEO at NWHSU. “We understand our students often need additional support to complete graduation requirements and that pursuing education can put a strain on finances for individuals and families. For women who are single parents, caring for aging parents, struggling to find the resources, and working to advance their education or pursue new opportunities, the challenge can be even greater.”

This grant represents the university’s efforts to remove barriers women may encounter while pursuing a new degree or certificate at NWHSU. Scholarship support provides a pathway to help students graduate and eventually join or start their own practice and achieve self-sufficiency.

Founded in 1866, the WCA Foundation supports the efforts of non-profit organizations that provide services to people in the state of Minnesota. NWHSU was selected for this grant based on its commitment to mitigating difficulties students and individuals encounter while pursuing a new degree or certificate, including stress.

“We are thrilled to help Northwestern Health Sciences University students on their path to meaningful careers that will serve our community through integrative healthcare,” said Susan Carter, the Executive Director of the WCA Foundation.

About 95 percent of students at NWHSU receive state and federal loan assistance. To offset the gap in financial assistance, it relies on generous donors and scholarship funds to support our students. As demand for integrative healthcare grows, NWHSU is adapting recruitment strategies and building sustainable, accessible vocational and educational pathways to address the existing opportunity gap within the integrative health care community and anticipate the needs of its future students and future colleague’s patients.