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Matched gift results in $50,000 for Nurse Scholar Program RELEASED: Jan. 10, 2007
EAU CLAIRE — One of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's first nursing graduates has committed $25,000 to the UW-Eau Claire Foundation to support a new Nurse Scholar Program and celebrate the 40th anniversary of UW-Eau Claire's bachelor's degree program in nursing. The gift from Nancy Fugate Woods, an Eau Claire native and 1968 nursing graduate, and her husband, James, will be matched by a Casper Foundation challenge grant to create a $50,000 endowment. Woods, dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Washington, established the fund in memory of her parents, Elizabeth and Robert Fugate, longtime Eau Claire residents. "Jim and I are making this gift to UW-Eau Claire in memory of my parents because my mother was a 1935 UW-Eau Claire graduate and believed our entire family benefited from her education," Woods said. "In addition, UW-Eau Claire provided me with an outstanding academic foundation on which to build an exciting and fulfilling career." The Fugate Fund will support UW-Eau Claire's new Nurse Scholar Program by providing funds to enhance opportunities for students in the program to participate in research activities, attend and present at nursing research conferences and connect with nursing doctorate programs around the country. "We hope this gift will encourage UW-Eau Claire students and future faculty to continue to learn," Woods said. "Just as there is a national shortage of nurses, there is an even more serious shortage of nursing faculty. For every 10 of us who retire, there are only three to take our place." The Woods' gift is recognized as a recognized as a contribution to Fulfilling the Promise of Excellence, the UW-Eau Claire Foundation's comprehensive campaign to benefit UW-Eau Claire's people and programs.
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