After a 20-year career leading the College of Human Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine, Dr. William “Bill” Wadland, his wife Betty and their three children all feel deeply connected to the college and MSU. They also share a passion for serving the underserved.
The couple recently established an endowment to support medical students participating in the Rural Community Health Program.
For the Wadlands, it was a natural extension of their family legacy.
Son Ross and daughter Lauren both earned their M.D.s from MSU and their brother Justin is also a Spartan.
As Betty, a retired nurse anesthetist, notes, the family could likely staff a small medical center. Yet it is everyone’s commitment to helping rural and underserved populations that means the most. “It has touched my heart as I’ve witnessed this throughout their careers,” she says.
“MSU just became a true part of our family and who we are, it’s obvious that we must give back in some way,” Bill says, adding. “This is a critical time to invest in the future of rural medical education.”
The new endowment will encourage medical students to pursue training in some of Michigan’s most rural and remote areas—where there is high need for medical care but also where students can incur unexpected additional costs in their training.
LEARN MORE about supporting rural medical education in the College of Human Medicine by contacting Associate Director of Development Kate Lax at laxk@msu.edu or by calling (616) 234-2615; or contacting Assistant Director of Development Susie Ziegler at ziegle85@msu.edu or by calling (616) 234-2816.