Rubens J. Pamies, MD, Opportunity Fund

This recorded session provided an overview of the Rubens J. Pamies, MD, Opportunity Fund scholarship application process and addressed questions from SHPEP alumni interested in applying for the award.

The information below reflects the Rubens J. Pamies, MD, Opportunity Fund scholarship and related program activities during SHPEP’s operation. It is preserved as part of the program’s historical record.

The Rubens J. Pamies, MD, Opportunity Fund was established in 2010 by the SHPEP National Alumni Advisory Board to provide financial assistance to program alums applying to professional or graduate degree programs for careers in a health profession*.

Each year, four applicants were selected to receive a $500 scholarship award. Recipients could use the award for expenses associated with pursuing a health professions education, including:

  • Application fees
  • Admission test fees (e.g., MCAT, DAT, OAT)
  • Admission test preparation materials and courses (e.g., MCAT, DAT, OAT)
  • Travel expenses for admission-related interviews

Eligible applicants were alumni of SHPEP, SMDEP, SMEP, or MMEP who were applying, or planning to apply within the following six months, to a professional or graduate degree program related to a health profession.

*Health professions included but were certainly not limited to: Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Optometry, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, Public Health, and Veterinary Medicine.

The scholarship fund was named after the late Dr. Rubens J. Pamies to honor his work in eradicating health disparities and increasing the number of students from racial and ethnic groups that are underrepresented in medicine. Dr. Pamies served as a mentor and role model for many students who participated in the program. The Scholarship serves as an expression of the alumni’s gratitude for his contribution to ensuring the success of underrepresented students within the health professions, his tireless efforts to eliminate health disparities, and his many charitable efforts within his community.

Since the scholarship was established, the fund received more than 850 applications, providing financial support to students pursuing their educational and professional goals.

Background on Rubens J. Pamies, MD

The son of Haitian immigrants, Dr. Pamies was six years old when his family relocated to Queens, New York. In 1986, he graduated with his medical degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine. After that, he finished his internal medicine and primary care residency at Cornell-North Shore University Hospital.

Among Dr. Pamies’ many accomplishments was co-authoring “Multicultural Medicine and Health Disparities,” the first book to examine health care disparities in detail with Dr. David Satcher, a former U.S. Surgeon General. At the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Dr. Pamies also held the positions of vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean for graduate studies for eight years.

Through his deep commitment to reducing health disparities, Dr. Pamies discovered ways of diversifying healthcare and played a vital role in addressing them. He founded the Virginia-Nebraska Alliance to attract marginalized and underrepresented communities to the health professions, providing a multitude of academic and research opportunities for undergraduate students and faculty. Dr. Pamies was also one of the key players in bringing the SHPEP program to UNMC, strengthening the academic proficiency and career development of students of disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds in the health professions.

In 2008, as a sophomore student at the University of Arizona, Jazmin Villavicencio, 2022-2023 Chair of the SHPEP National Alumni Advisory Board, had the privilege of attending the SHPEP program at UNMC and meeting Dr. Pamies.

“Throughout the program, Dr. Pamies met individually with each and every one of us. He listened to our stories, encouraged us, and reminded us that we could do this. This was very meaningful because there were many students like myself, who might have been the first ones in their families to attend college, struggle with impostor syndrome, or doubt that we were good enough to pursue a healthcare career. It was during that summer while in the SHPEP program that I learned about public health and health disparities, and that helped me realize my love for prevention and community work.”

  • Jazmin Villavicencio, MHSA

Below are some of the words Dr. Pamies’ colleagues shared about him and the legacy he has left behind.

“He had so much more to contribute to health care and the greater community world… Rubens was a nationally renowned academic educator. He was an expert on health disparities. He was there to help rescue Haiti from the devastation of the 2010 earthquake. He led the volunteer effort for UNMC and subsequently published a gut-wrenching book (Help and Hope for Haiti) on this tragedy.”

  • Dr. Harold M. Maurer, UNMC Chancellor

“Rubens had a very strong commitment to addressing the health needs of the poor regardless of their race or ethnicity. He worked tirelessly to accomplish that goal. He was a very strong person with a big heart full of compassion for others.”

  • Dr. David Satcher, former U.S. Surgeon General

2026 Rubens J. Pamies, MD, Opportunity Fund Scholarship Awardees