UA ALUMNA BEQUEATHS FUNDS TO ESTABLISH NURSING SCHOLARSHIPS

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — University of Arkansas alumna Nelda Wolf Richter has bequeathed nearly $430,000 to the College of Education and Health Professions to establish nursing scholarships for qualified nursing students enrolled in the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing.

"We are grateful that Mrs. Richter chose to remember the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing in the College of Education and Health Professions by providing for the University in her estate planning," Dr. Barbara Conrad, associate professor and director of the Mann School of Nursing, said. "Her gift will ensure that future generations of nursing students have an opportunity to earn their degrees here. Her gift also ensures our ability to attract qualified students to our program. We feel that this gift stands as a testament to Mrs. Richter’s love for the nursing profession."

After graduating from the Kansas City General Hospital School of Nursing in 1940, Richter went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Arkansas in 1972. She was a member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and retired as a registered nurse in 1979 from the Veterans Hospital in Fayetteville. She was a member of the Bella Vista Community Church. She was married to the late Charles Richter in 1939. Mrs. Richter died March 1, 2001.

As much as $10,000 will be awarded to qualified nursing students in the Spring 2002 semester.

The Mann School of Nursing prepares students to enter the professional practice of nursing and/or pursue graduate-level nursing education. The school emphasizes nurses’ varied roles as caregivers, managers, teachers and researchers and is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission and approved by the Arkansas State Board of Nursing. The school offers a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) and graduates of the program who successfully complete a licensing exam are eligible to become registered nurses.

In fiscal year 2001, the College of Education and Health Professions received $1.8 million in private gift support, of which 5 percent was in the form of planned gifts or bequests.