In November the TCU community gathered in the Brown-Lupton University Union ballroom to celebrate the naming of the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine. 

When the medical school first opened its doors to students in July 2019, it was the TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, reflecting the founding partnership with the University of North Texas Health Science Center.

The schools parted ways in early 2022. Six months later, TCU’s medical school received its permanent name.

Over the years, the Burnett Foundation and Anne Marion have made $50 million in gifts to help bring to life the vision of a medical school devoted to empathetic communication and technological innovation.

Paul Dorman attended the naming celebration, where he was greeted by Quinn Losefsky ’19, Dilan Shah and Edmundo Esparza, who, like the rest of the 60 students in the inaugural class, received full-tuition scholarships for their first year from the Fort Worth philanthropist.

Edmundo Esparza received tremendous support from the university as it helped him navigate some unexpected hardships during medical school. Photo by Glen E. Ellman

“That gift made an impact,” said Shah, the medical school’s founding student senate president. “I know my classmates and I will always appreciate what he did for us.”

Losefsky kicked off the evening’s program by telling the audience that upon graduating in May, she would become one of nine students to earn both her undergraduate degree and medical school degree from TCU.

“I really can’t think of a more fitting namesake for our medical school than Anne Burnett Marion,” Losefsky said. “As a woman going into the surgical field, there are still plenty of glass ceilings to break. It is incredibly inspiring to say I come from a school named after such a tenacious, strong-willed woman.” 

Marion, a former TCU trustee who died in 2020, was the great-granddaughter of legendary cattleman Samuel “Burk” Burnett, who founded the iconic 6666 Ranch 200 miles northwest of campus. Burnett was also the husband of Mary Couts Burnett, the namesake of TCU’s library.

In addition to being a leader in philanthropy and ranching, Marion was an arts benefactor who founded the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

During November’s naming festivities, Esparza took to the podium to thank Marion and her family for all they have for done for the medical school.

He described some of the hardships he encountered during medical school, including an unexpected surgery his first year and initial rejection for his federal loans at the start of his third.

In both cases, the medical school’s administrators rallied behind him. They not only helped him appeal the loan denial but also assisted him in finding funding and scholarships.

In 2022, the school nominated Esparza for the ElevateMeD scholarship. He was one of 15 students from around the country awarded the $10,000 national prize, which supports students of color.

At the celebration dinner, he sat a table with TCU Board of Trustees president Mark Johnson and his wife, Christina, who gave Esparza a $10,000 gift to support his second year of medical school.

Many in the crowd dabbed their eyes as Esparza described his immense gratitude to the school.

“You may not understand how much your donations impact us as medical students,” he said, “but it does in every way.”