UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 25, Page 3
March 25, 1993
Nursing fund-raising drive nears its $1 million goal

     The endowment fund of the College of Nursing received a boost from ICI
Pharmaceuticals when the company contributed $75,000 over a three-year
period to establish a scholarship for a minority student from Delaware.
     The fund drive, which is co-chaired by University trustees Sherman L.
Townsend and Kay Flickinger, is approaching its goal of $1 million, with a
total of $910,800 pledged thus far, according to Muriel Gilman, consultant
for the fund.
     "We are optimistic that we will reach our goal by June. Area
companies, health facilities, alumni, faculty and friends all have
contributed to the endowment fund drive. The drive is a first for this
purpose for the College of Nursing," Gilman said.
     Dean Betty Paulanka said that the endowment fund has enabled the
college to offer a total of $35,000 in scholarships this year and has
helped to attract high-caliber students to the college.
     "We are pleased with the support we have received from across the
state and from our alumni," Paulanka said. Currently, enrollment in the
college has increased more than 30 percent, from 385 undergraduates in 1991
to 570 in 1992. The freshman class in 1991 was 62, rising to 108 sophomore
students in 1992. Of the students who applied to this year's freshman
class,  20 percent were eligible for the Honors Program and/or University
scholarships.
     "The endowment fund will continue to help attract and support students
who choose to serve in the nursing profession," she said.
     Among the contributors are:

       * Blue Cross/Blue Shield, which is supporting a scholarship for a
         graduate of Delaware Technical and Community College to continue
         his or her nursing education, and which also wishes to help
         sponsor the new Family Nurse Practitioner Program by preceptoring
         nursing students in their H.M.O. clinical site;
       * Happy Harry's, which has contributed nursing supplies for
         educational purposes to the college and a cash donation;
       * The Kent County Medical Society Auxiliary, the New Castle County
         Medical Society Auxiliary, the Auxiliary State Osteopathic
         Medical Society and the Visiting Nurse Association, and
       * The Medical Center of Delaware, which contributed both hospital
         equipment to the college and a cash donation.

     "In addition to establishing an endowment fund, the campaign has
raised  awareness about the College of Nursing and forged links between the
college and the community it serves," Gilman said.
                                        -Sue Swyers Moncure