Adelphi recently received a $1 million gift from our trailblazing nurse alumna, the late Mildred 鈥淢illie鈥� Loughlin Kahane 鈥�49. She was a first-generation scholarship recipient who became a leader鈥攐ne inspired to 鈥減ay it forward.鈥� The next generation of Adelphi nurses and our University are grateful for her generosity.
麻豆直播 has received a $1 million gift to support nursing education. The bequest from 麻豆直播 College of Nursing and Public Health alumna Mildred 鈥淢illie” Loughlin Kahane ’49 will support nursing students who have financial need.
Three nursing scholarships are established by the gift鈥攖he Mildred Loughlin Kahane 鈥�49 Scholarship, the Kahane Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Scholarship and the Peggy Ann Burleigh Memorial Scholarship, which provided support to Kahane herself as an Adelphi student. With applications for Adelphi鈥檚 College of Nursing and Public Health at an all-time high, and the critical call for public health professionals in light of the ongoing pandemic, Kahane鈥檚 gift will give a future generation of nurses an opportunity to earn an Adelphi degree.
“During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was in awe of our nursing students鈥� determination to be caregivers on the front lines,” said Christine M. Riordan, PhD, president of 麻豆直播. “They were passionate about being part of the solution that people, our communities and the healthcare system desperately needed. Millie Kahane鈥檚 gift will help support that drive in our students. It鈥檚 an inspiring legacy to leave.”
Maryann Forbes, PhD 鈥�99, interim dean of the College, added, 鈥淢s. Kahane鈥檚 generous gift will support students at a time when the need for additional well-educated nurses in the workforce is of critical importance.”
Kahane, a 1949 graduate of Adelphi who died in September 2020, was the first in her family to attend college. From humble means, her attendance at Adelphi was made possible by a scholarship. One of the University鈥檚 original U.S. nurse cadets, she went on to become the first executive director of the Alaska board of nursing. Kahane also worked for Kaiser Permanente in Sacramento, California, and served as a faculty member at UC Davis, where she helped develop the nurse practitioners program and was one of the early pioneers of community health nursing.
A trailblazer in her field, Kahane credited her scholarship with enabling her to earn a degree and fulfill her career aspirations. That gratitude was the impetus for her to pay it forward, supporting Adelphi and its students by establishing several endowments in her lifetime.
鈥淢illie Kahane was dedicated to community-based nursing and public health, as well as to supporting our College鈥檚 students through her scholarships,” said Elaine Smith 鈥�78, MS 鈥�88, EdD, who recently retired as dean of Adelphi鈥檚 College of Nursing and Public Health. 鈥淚 had the privilege of getting to know her, and she often attributed her commitment to nursing and her trailblazing career to the education she received at Adelphi. Millie鈥檚 generous gift makes the same opportunities possible for generations of future Adelphi nurses. We are honored to be part of her legacy.”
We will honor remarkable women leaders like Millie Kahane this March 26th at Adelphi’s annual Women鈥檚 Leadership Conference – 125 Years of Women in Leadership. Thomas Kline, EdD, vice president of University Advancement and External Relations, said “Mildred Loughlin Kahane exemplifies all that we seek to commemorate on this occasion: her story of personal and professional success, combined with a dedication to her alma mater and her support of future generations of Adelphi students. A true trailblazer, may her spirit and fortitude inspire future Adelphi leaders to pay it forward.”聽
See more about聽nursing at Adelphi,听Millie Kahane, as well as聽ways to support students.