Posted: Monday, March 12, 2012 2:30 pm | Updated: 7:05 pm, Mon Mar 12, 2012.

GLASSBOROSouth Jersey's new medical school has received a significant boost from a local couple.

Former Moorestown resident Lawrence Salva and his wife, Rita, donated $1.055 million to the Cooper Medical School at Rowan University in Camden.

Announced Monday, the gift is the largest donation ever received by the university from an alumnus. It also is the biggest gift to date earmarked for the medical school.

"The Salvas' gift truly is transformative and will have a lasting impact on Rowan University, our new medical school and the entire region," said R.J. Tallarida, assistant vice president for development.

The donation will establish a $1 million endowment to benefit medical school students. Earnings on the endowment, plus the additional $55,000 gift, are expected to provide $100,000 in scholarships for the school's charter class. The first students will begin classes in August.

Annual tuition for the medical school is $32,860 for in-state residents and $52,680 for those from out of state, according to Paul Katz, the school's founding dean. Fees and living expenses boost in-state annual costs to about $57,400, Katz said. The average medical student graduates with more than $150,000debt.

Many medical students base their education and speciality decisions on their anticipated debt and the funding available to help pay their costs, Katz said. The Salvas' gift will better allow students to choose their careers based on medical interests that could include areas with significant shortages, he said.

The newly established Lawrence and Rita Salva Medical Scholars Fund is expected to provide one or more of three distinct four-year scholarships annually. They include the Southern New Jersey Scholarship for students with financial need who have attended a kindergarten-through-12th-grade school district in South Jersey; the Founder Scholarship for students in financial need who come from traditionally disadvantaged backgrounds; and the Service Scholarship, which will be awarded to students who have performed more than 200 hours of volunteer service before matriculation.

During a news conference at Rowan's Campbell Library in Glassboro, Salva talked about his opportunities on campus and expressed a desire to help medical students get their career starts.

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Cooper-Rowan medical school receives $1.055 million donation