DEVELOPMENTNEWS Cigna Foundation Awards Grant to DNP Program
Gus Gonzales, M.S.N. ‘05
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The Cigna Foundation has awarded a grant of nearly $42,000 to the University to support students enrolled in the doctor of nursing practice (D.N.P.) program. The grant will provide funds for tuition, fees, and a teaching stipend for one year for two nursing students in the program, with preference given to those from underrepresented populations. The selected students will teach either undergraduate clinical or theory courses in the University’s bachelor of science in nursing program. This is the Cigna Foundation’s second award to the program, following a grant award of nearly $18,000 for the 2011-12 academic year. “This grant award from Cigna provides critical support to two students who are seeking to complete the DNP with the goal of furthering their careers
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in advanced, leadership positions in the nursing profession at this critical, historical moment in the reform of the American health care system,” says Kem Louie, professor of nursing and director of the University’s graduate programs in nursing. “By granting funds for teaching assistantships as well as tuition, the foundation will help the University provide the necessary pedagogical skills for deserving students to deliver culturally sensitive, caring, and competent nursing care to diverse clients in a variety of clinical settings.” Gus Gonzales, M.S.N. ’05, was awarded the initial scholarship in 2011, as well as one of the two new grant awards. An Argentinian immigrant, Gonzales earned his master’s degree in nursing at the University in order to open a medical practice to help an underserved community as a nurse practitioner. Now, he is continuing his education at William Paterson on the doctoral level. “This grant from Cigna is allowing me to further my education so I can provide better resources and care to my community and my patients,” he says. “I am already utilizing what I have learned in my classes in my practice. This is helping me make a difference in people’s lives.” The University launched its doctor of nursing practice program—the University’s first doctoral program— in fall 2011. The highest-level clinical degree in nursing, it provides nurses who already hold master’s degrees with additional education in leadership in nursing practice and health care organizations, and prepares them to be scholars recognized for outstanding patient-care outcomes. Eighteen students are currently enrolled in the program.
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Estate Gift Creates Endowed Scholarship in Memory of Evelyn Foote ’43 A gift of $442,000 from the estate of George Foote has established an endowed scholarship in memory of Foote’s late sister, Evelyn Foote ’43, a former teacher in the Montclair Public Schools. The gift will be used to create the Evelyn Foote Endowed Scholarship Fund, which will award an annual, full-tuition scholarship to a student majoring in elementary education.
Evelyn Foote
“We were honored to receive this very generous gift from the late George Foote in honor of his sister, who graduated from the University when it was the New Jersey State Teachers College at Paterson, and who had a long career as a teacher in New Jersey,” says Pamela Ferguson, vice president for institutional advancement. “By endowing a scholarship for an elementary education student, the Foote family is providing critical support for the preparation of student teachers who will make a lasting impact on the future of education in New Jersey.”