Northwestern University has announced a $10.5 million gift from alumni Muneer Satter and Kristen Hertel and the Satter Foundation in support of merit-based medical scholarships and other educational opportunities for deserving students.

The gift includes $2 million in support of several programs and initiatives in Northwestern's School of Education and Social Policy, including Project Excite, which provides supplemental education, personal academic advising, and programs aimed at helping minority and low-income students enter college. The majority of the gift, some $8.5 million, will be used to fund the Satter Foundation Scholarship program at the university's Feinberg School of Medicine. The merit-based scholarship program provides $40,000 annually to three outstanding first-year students through the third year of medical school.

"Muneer and Kristen's generosity provides remarkable opportunities to superb students who are poised to become tomorrow’s leaders in medicine," said Dr. Eric G. Neilson, vice president for medical affairs and Lewis Landsberg Dean of Feinberg. "We are grateful for their extraordinary commitment to fortify this scholarship fund for future generations."