Grant of $75,000 Creates Public Health Fellowships

The School of Public Health has received a $75,000 grant to finance at least two new student fellowships, Richard H. Daggy, associate dean for International Programs at the School, announced yesterday.

Merck Sharpe and Dohme, a pharmaceutical and chemical company, donated the funds for the fellowship, which will be presented to "physicians from underdeveloped countries to which they intend to return as public health specialists." They will also go to "American physicians intending to engage in international public health activities."

About 25 of the School's 172 students come from "underdeveloped countries," Daggy said. Almost all students return home after studying at Harvard. "We rarely accept a foreign student if he doesn't have a job to return to," he said.

The grant, which will provide aid for three years, "comes at a most propitious time," according to Daggy. "Traineeships from the United States government, scholarships from the World Health Organization, and other sources of support for students are just not sufficient to meet the present demand for admission."

Virtually all students at the School of Public Health receive financial support. "We particularly regret having to turn away qualified physicians for lack of such support," he said.

The fellowships may cover all or part of tuition, fees, transportation in the case of foreign students, and dependency allowances, Daggy said. They will be awarded by the Committee on Admissions and Degrees at the School.