A member of our alumni family has made Neumann University history. Jacquelyn Fegley ’71 and her husband of 51 years, William Fegley, Jr., have made the extraordinarily generous gift of $5 million to support undergraduate nursing students.
It is the largest donation that the university has ever received from an individual.
Jackie and Bill’s gift will provide scholarships for 15 new nursing students each year, allowing them to launch their paths to a BSN and a professional nursing career. The criteria to qualify are straightforward: academic excellence and financial need.
In recognition of the gift, the university’s BSN and graduate nursing programs were named The Jacquelyn Wilson Fegley ’71 College of Nursing at a January 16 ceremony on campus.
It is no surprise to anyone who knows Jackie and Bill that they would encourage aspiring nurses to achieve their educational goals. Both believe in the power of higher education to transform lives.
Jackie earned her nursing degree at Neumann (then Our Lady of Angels College) and served as a nurse for years. Before her time as a health professional, she devoted ten years of her life to prayer, learning, and service as a Sister of St. Francis of Philadelphia.
A former lecturer at Penn and adjunct professor at Drexel and Penn State, Bill acted as the managing shareholder at Fegley & Associates for 47 years, serving his clients by helping them attain financial security. He is a member of the Neumann University Board of Trustees and served as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Sisters of Saint Francis Foundation for four-and-a-half years.
Their gift for nursing scholarships will transform the lives of hundreds of aspiring nurses, including many first-generation college students at Neumann.
For their devotion to Franciscan values, higher education, and the nursing profession, we are forever grateful.
Dr. Chris Everett Domes
President