New name, unrivaled excellence in care: Keigwin School of Nursing shines
brighter with $3.3 million in gifts and naming by Beverly and Jack Keigwin
Beverly and Jack Keigwin with JU President Tim Cost
Jacksonville University is home to the newly established Keigwin School of Nursing, thanks to gifts including $3 million from Beverly and Jack Keigwin, the University announced Wednesday. The Keigwins’ donation is the largest in the Nursing school’s 36-year history.
Additional investments in the program and in the Brooks Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences are strengthening the quality of education and preparation JU students receive. The Keigwin School of Nursing alumni already enjoy one of the region’s highest employment placement rates.
Trustee, executive-in-residence and friend to the University Jack Keigwin said the gift is one of the most meaningful ones he and his wife have made.
“As a family we believe that every great city has an outstanding private university, and Jacksonville University is no exception,” he said. “Now the Keigwin School, with its world-class faculty, will enhance the quality of healthcare in our community for our students, the JU Family and our region.”
Beverly Keigwin has devoted her time, energy and passion to the School of Nursing’s students, and has a personal reason for wanting to help it shine.
“As a former nurse, I want the students to have a true home on campus where they can learn in a cutting edge environment with compassionate faculty and hands on training. They are ready when they leave JU,” she said.
The investment from the Keigwins as part of the University’s ASPIRE Campaign includes a just-announced $2 million gift that will be used to promote faculty excellence, grow student scholarships, recruit top educators and guest lecturers, enhance curriculum and add even more state-of-the-art technology.
“We are extremely grateful for this high-impact donation from Jack and Beverly Keigwin, who are among our region’s most distinguished citizens and have shown long-term commitment to Jacksonville University and its premier Nursing programs,” said JU President Tim Cost. “This transformational investment will ensure that we achieve our mission as we continue to provide rigorous Nursing educational experiences that benefit students, area patients and the community.”
The Keigwin funding helps bolster a key pillar of the University’s $120 million ASPIRE Campaign, which has raised nearly $109 million toward its 2020 goal. In recent weeks several additional charitable donations will benefit the Brooks Rehabilitation College and the Keigwin School of Nursing, including:
- $100,000 from the Alfred I. duPont Educational and Charitable Fund to establish the Alfred I. duPont Endowed Nursing Scholarship Fund.
- More than $50,000 committed for the Dr. Patricia Ann Schroeder Endowed Scholarship Fund for a student majoring in pre-professional studies or a Doctor of Nursing Practice.
- More than $26,000 from the friends and family, many of whom are JU alumni, of Jean Bianchi for the Bianchi Memorial Scholarship Fund benefiting a nursing student.
Dean of the Brooks Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences, Dr. Christine Sapienza, said it is an honor to have the Keigwin name associated with JU’s School of Nursing.
“The Keigwins have been advocates and significant supporters of Jacksonville University and higher education in general,” she said. “Jack and Beverly Keigwin are towers of strength, and the faculty and staff admire their generosity, hard work and achievements, and are privileged to have their confidence in us to continue our vision for continued excellence in exemplary educational nursing training experiences.”
The school will continue to focus heavily on efforts that create successful student outcomes, Sapienza added.
“We are so proud to be representing the Keigwins now and in the future, as we continue to grow and mature as a highly recognized College of Healthcare Sciences.”
The Jacksonville University School of Nursing was established in its current form in 1981 and flourished under the leadership of President Dr. Frances Bartlett Kinne. Dr. Kinne serves as the University’s Chancellor Emerita, and turns 100 in May of this year. She celebrated with the Keigwins, President and First Lady Tim and Stephanie Cost, faculty and staff on the riverfront campus as the naming and gifts were announced, and said she couldn’t be more pleased with the school’s growth and reputation.
“This is a very significant development for the school, and very significant not only for our community, but well beyond that, because the school sends our graduates to so many parts of the country and overseas,” Dr. Kinne said. “The quality is always at the top, and I’m so proud of everyone there and what the school has grown to become.”
About the Keigwin School of Nursing
The Keigwin School of Nursing at Jacksonville University is committed to the success of each student as a self-assured, clinically competent, caring professional nurse, who practices in an evolving, complex health care environment, provides leadership to promote health among culturally diverse people and promotes the advancement of nursing knowledge through evidence-based practice and life-long learning. It’s DNP, MSN and BSN programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
