Three Gates Millennium Scholars represent UNTHSC

Gayla Ferguson, William Nutting, and Victor Trejo, were selected as Gates Millennium Scholars. These students were successful in high school and maintained their commitment to excellence into graduate school at the Health Science Center.

Ferguson, a student in the School of Public Health, was valedictorian at her high school and graduated from Baylor University prior to enrolling at the Health Science Center in the fall of 2009. Nutting graduated from the Health Science Center in December 2009 with a Master of Medical Sciences and will start medical school this fall at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Trejo began the PhD program in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences last fall, majoring in neurobiology of aging.

The Gates Millennium Scholars Program (GMS), established in 1999, was founded by a $1 billion grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to promote academic excellence and to provide an opportunity for outstanding minority students with significant financial need to reach their highest potential. Graduate recipients must attain a high school cumulative GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale, demonstrate leadership though past community service, extracurricular or other activities, and continue their studies in the areas of computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or sciences.

The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) administers the GMS program. To reach, coordinate and support the constituent groups, UNCF partnered with the American Indian Graduate Center Scholars, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund.

The GMS program offers the scholars with Academic Empowerment (ACE) services to encourage academic excellence; mentoring services for academic and personal development; and an online resource center that provides internship, fellowship and scholarship information. The program has provided more than $500 million in scholarships to more than 13,000 students representing 50 states and five countries.

Recent News

Eun-Young Mun
  • Our People
|Jun 16, 2025

Dr. Eun-Young Mun receives national award for advancing prevention science

  Eun-Young Mun, PhD, a regents professor and associate dean for Research and Innovation at The University of North Texas Health Science Center of Fort Worth’s College of Public Health, has received the Nan Tobler Award at the 33rd annual meeting of the Society for Prevention Research....
Dr. John Licciardone
  • Research
|Jun 12, 2025

Long-term study shows better chronic pain outcomes in patients treated by osteopathic physicians

The first long-term study involving three years of follow-up of osteopathic medical care for chronic pain has been published in the Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. The research team was led by Dr. John Licciardone, executive director of the Osteopathic Research Center and regents professor at T...
Dsc01266
  • Community
|Jun 12, 2025

Legacy Writers: TCOM students bring life stories to the final chapter

When Azelia Lau arrived at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, she brought more than a passion for psychiatry. She also carried a long-held idea inspired by an undergraduate program she never got to join. Now a third-...
Lillee Smith Gelinas 666 X 750
  • Research
|Jun 5, 2025

TCOM course linked to higher patient safety awareness knowledge and residency readiness

The Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth is the first medical school in the country to require a patient safety course that prepares students for the Certified Professional in Patient Safety credential — and a new study publishe...