Posted on Fri, Oct. 9, 2009
Gwynedd-Mercy College has received a $5 million gift - the largest from an alumnus - from Frances M. Maguire, a 1955 graduate, to name the school's nursing program, officials announced yesterday.
The gift, creating the Frances M. Maguire School of Nursing, was unveiled at a board of trustees meeting this week. It comes two weeks before the nursing school celebrates its 50th anniversary.
"I have always been a believer in remembering where I came from and giving back in some way to those who have helped me to get where I am today," Maguire, of Wyndmoor, said in a statement.
After receiving her associate's degree in the health care field, Maguire, the daughter of a surgeon and a nurse, returned to Gwynedd-Mercy in the 1970s to study nursing. She is the mother of eight children and grandmother of 21.
The gift will go toward an endowment for the nursing school and help with the nursing program, including scholarships, faculty support, and technology and equipment. The nursing school enrolls more than 500 students and receives 1,300 applications annually.
"This extraordinary gift will transform our already excellent nursing program and take it to new levels to enhance the reputation of Mercy nurses throughout the greater Philadelphia area and beyond," Gwynedd-Mercy president Kathleen Owens said in a statement. "Our students will now have the very best learning environment with the real-world simulation of a hospital setting."
Contact staff writer Susan Snyder at 215-854-4693 or ssnyder@phillynews.com.
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