University of Maryland School of Nursing Receives $10 Million Donation

The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) recently received a $10 million gift from Bill and Joanne Conway through their Bedford Falls Foundation. The generous gift will enable the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) to provide scholarships to nearly 350 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees, and aid in addressing the state’s nursing workforce needs.

UMB President Jay A. Perman, MD, tells UMaryland.edu, “Maryland is among just a handful of states facing the country’s worst shortages in nursing. The Conways’ extraordinarily generous gift will begin remediating these shortages. And ultimately, what that means is that the care we provide to Marylanders will improve: Patient outcomes will improve, complex care will be delivered with fewer errors, we’ll shorten in-patient hospital stays. And so, this gift is really an investment in the health and safety of all of Maryland’s citizens.”

The Conways’ gift will be disbursed over a five-year period, funding 341 scholarships in total. The Conways’ have pledged more than $15 million to UMSON over past three years, and their previous previous gifts have funded 106 scholarships to date.

Funding from the Conways’ gift will also go toward the Registered Nurse-to-Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-to-BSN) students at UMB. Students in the RN-to-BSN program complete prerequisites at their local community college, the costs for which will also be covered, then transfer to UMSON as Conway Scholars.

Conway Scholarships cover in-state tuition and fees. Post-baccalaureate recipients must commit to serving as clinical preceptors, teaching as clinical instructors, or securing full-time faculty positions within three years of graduation.