The TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine received a $25 million donation, contributing to the Lead On campaign.

Chancellor Victor Boschini announced the donation from Anne Marion, who died in February, and the Burnett Foundation on Tuesday in an email to students and faculty.

Instituted as The Anne W. Marion Endowment, the donation will be used to help the school become a top provider of medical education, equipping its students with the skills they need to handle complex health care issues, including those involved with serving patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The endowment will enhance the School of Medicine’s communication-based curriculum designed to cultivate “empathetic scholars.”

Marion’s Fort Worth family has been a contributor to TCU for over a century, and individually, she was known as a philanthropic leader and a supporter of the university’s advancement.

“I am inspired by the vision of the School of Medicine to transform medical education,” Marion said before she died. “This school is bringing considerable advances and innovations that are reshaping curriculum and preparing its graduates to better serve the community. I am pleased to make this gift.”

The Burnett Foundation has been a longtime benefactor to the Fort Worth community, enriching the city’s arts, humanities, education, and health and human services.

This contribution bring the Lead On campaign’s total funds raised to $671 million, putting it closer to the goal of $1 billion announced last October.

Read more: Lead On campaign to raise $1 billion

The campaign was initiated to strengthen the university’s endowment and its support of scholarships and academic programs, as well as to increase the diversity and inclusiveness of the student population.

With a goal of $1 billion, Lead On is the “most ambitious” campaign in the school’s history.