Miami University

Funds for future African-American doctors available

The Dr. Asa C. Messenger Memorial Loan Fund offers interest-free loans to Miami African-American undergraduates who intend to become physicians.

Dr. Messenger was a prominent physician in southwestern Ohio around the turn of the 20th century. After serving in the administration of then Gov. William McKinley, he opened a general practice in Xenia in 1903. He served also as Xenia city health officer for eight years and was a member of the Xenia Board of Education for 12 years. Dr. Messenger’s grandson, R. Conrad Leslie, president of The Leslie Analytical Organization, is a 1947 Miami alumnus.

Students are not required to begin paying back loans from the Messenger fund until after graduating from medical school. If the student does not pursue post-graduate study, the loan repayment period begins one year after graduating from Miami.

Of the four African-American students who have received loans, two have become physicians and a third is an attorney.

For more information, contact student financial aid, 9-8734.

Date Published: 11/04/1999
Volume: 19   Number: 15