Western University of Health Sciences Receives $1.2 Million Gift from Education Philanthropists

The College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP) at Western

University of Health Sciences has been awarded a $1.2 million education

research endowment by a retired medical doctor with long-standing ties to

a founding board member.

Dr. Daljit Sarkaria and his wife Elaine Sarkaria, Ed.D, in keeping with

their deeply held tenets of bettering human life through education,

extend their generosity in the form of a real estate donation.

Upon earning his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1948 and an M.D. from

New York State University at Buffalo in 1957, Dr. Sarkaria entered

residency training at UCLA Medical School which prepared him for a 22-

year tenure with La Mirada Hospital as a pathologist, supervising

clinical laboratories and diagnosing cancer cells in the blood and tissue

of his patients.

While at La Mirada Hospital Sarkaria formed a friendship with fellow

physician Ethan Allen, DO,a founding director of Western University and

its longest-serving active board member, and learned that Allen’s

osteopathic medicine training (through which the patient, not the

disease, is the center of care) aligned with his own holistic approach

to health care.

“”Our gratitude for this generous gift by the Sarkarias is immeasurable,””

said Dr. Philip Pumerantz, president of Western University. “”It

exemplifies the very meaning of humanism.””

Jim Williams, director of gift planning, said, “”It has been a real joy to

work with Dr. and Mrs. Sarkaria. They truly care about both the value of

education and the world around them.””