Conway Grant to the School of Nursing Renewed

By Alice Perrigo and Elizabeth Friden

William and Joanne Conway contributed $4,000,000 more dollars to the Conway grant this semester.
Conway is a co-founder and financial analyst for the Carlyle Group. The Conway Scholarship Program was established two years ago for students in the School of Nursing at Catholic University. Conway was able to give $4 million to establish the fund for the 2013-2014 school year, with $1 million to be used per year.
The Grant means benefits can be given to selected students for all four years they attend the School of Nursing. In the first year it was established, the School of Nursing evaluated all of the students who applied to the school on both a merit and need basis. The School of Nursing selected 19 freshmen to receive scholarship money, room and board, textbook stipends, and the mentorship of Jane Taylor, the personal advisor to the students in the program.
In order to continue to receive these benefits, the 19 students have been required to maintain good academic standing with the university and keep the minimum 2.75 grade point average requirement for all School of Nursing students.
The Grant has opened up many possibilities for students who would not have otherwise had those opportunities.
Instead of stressing over tuition payments, students in the School of Nursing who receive aid from the Conway Grant can focus on their studies and internships. The Dean of the Nursing School, Dr. Patricia McMullen, is very enthusiastic about the program saying, “a career in nursing is something where you can help and earn a great living.”
The original 19 students are now juniors and Conway has remained very interested in their progress since the start of the program two years ago and receives regular updates about their progress.
Earlier this semester on September 11th, Conway even visited the University and met with the 19 students. Conway expressed satisfaction to see the difference his Grant was making in the program and in the student’s lives.
However, right now the program is only benefitting one class of nursing students, namely the Class of 2017. Conway’s visit last month may have changed that though, as he encouraged the School of Nursing to place another request to renew the grant.
McMullen confirmed that the School of Nursing will in fact place this request and that the future of the Conway Scholarship Program looks promising. If renewed, all the opportunities provided for the Nursing School Class of 2017 would once again be available to select future students in the Catholic University School of Nursing.