An alumnus and cousin of the dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences donated $3.2 million to the college’s scholarships, fellowships and endowed professorships.

Part of Leonard Akman’s post-mortem gift will pay for a reception and conference room in the new Clinical Learning and Skills Center, which will open next spring. He died in April 2011 and the University announced the gift Monday.

Donations left in wills have surged over the past several years, peaking last fiscal year when $23.5 million was set aside for GW. The 81 gifts GW received last fiscal year was about 56 percent more than the year before.

Akman was a mentor to his cousin, medical school dean Jeffrey Akman. The late Akman was remembered for pioneering innovations in cardiac surgery, like heart transplants and catheterization. He earned his medical degree from GW in 1943.