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Casper Foundation grant doubles nursing gifts

Top photo: UW-Eau Claire nursing student Shayna Finnegan takes the blood pressure of Eau Claire resident Bill Bottoms. Bottom photo: Nita Johnson, clinical instructor in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, works with nursing student Aaron Whalen using SimBaby. (UW-Eau Claire photos by Bill Hoepner)

Pat Ostmoe, professor emerita and former dean of nursing at UW-Eau Claire, wanted to do something special to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the university's nursing program. When the Casper Foundation of Chippewa Falls issued a $125,000 matching gift challenge, Ostmoe took advantage of the opportunity to have her gift doubled. She pledged $12,500, which will be matched by the challenge grant, to establish a $25,000 endowment for the Ostmoe Award for Faculty and Academic Staff Excellence in Clinical Education in Nursing.

Ostmoe's gift to the College of Nursing and Health Sciences is one of several recent commitments in response to the Casper Foundation matching gift challenge. Gifts to create new funds or endow existing funds qualify for the match, which was issued to jump-start funding for faculty, students and technology in nursing. Qualifying gifts may be made outright or pledged over a three-to five-year period.

"We are thrilled with this opportunity to significantly leverage new gifts for our nursing program," said Elaine Wendt, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. "The Casper Foundation grant enables us to reach out to alumni and current and past faculty to give them great motivation to invest in the nursing program. We have a serious need for funding to support our efforts to attract and retain Ph.D.-prepared faculty to enable us to admit more students to our programs. The future of health care in our country depends on our ability to prepare more nurses and nurse educators. This funding initiative is a major step in that direction."

Each of the following recent commitments will be doubled thanks to the Casper Foundation grant:

• $25,000 from Nancy Fugate Woods, a 1973 UW-Eau Claire graduate, and her husband, James, to create the Elizabeth Barnes and Robert Fugate Memorial Scholarship in memory of her parents. This endowed scholarship is the first to provide annual support for the college's new Nurse Scholars Program. Woods is a member of the first graduating class.
• $25,000 from Jane Moore, a 1973 UW-Eau Claire graduate, and her husband, James, to support special projects and programs in nursing. Moore, who is chairing the funding initiative, was one of the first alums to make a major gift three years ago to invest in the program's clinical simulation technology.
• $15,000 from the Eau Claire Student Nurses Association, comprised of current nursing students, to establish an endowed scholarship for outstanding nursing students. (See related story.)
• $10,000 from Wendt to establish the Wendt Family Nursing Opportunity Fund to bring to campus individuals who are in graduate school programs or completing their doctoral degrees to speak in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences and interact with faculty and students as a precursor to participating in a faculty search.

Wendt said several other proposals are under consideration and that work is now under way to secure additional matching funds to continue to leverage more private support for the college and its long-term needs.

"I hope my gift will encourage alumni and faculty to more generously support the college," Ostmoe said. "This is a wonderful opportunity to make a gift that will have twice the impact on the nursing program. I'm pleased to participate in an endeavor that will have far-reaching consequences."

For more information about participating in this funding opportunity for nursing, contact the UW-Eau Claire Foundation at 715-836-5180 or waykk@uwec.edu, or Elaine Wendt, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, at 715-836-5287 or wendtle@uwec.edu.