The UCSF School of Nursing has received a record-setting bequest from the estate of Marie Burgess Wilson. The gift, in excess of $1 million, is the largest ever made to the School by an individual donor.

The bequest will establish the Marie Burgess Wilson Faculty Research Fund, which will provide much-needed support to nursing faculty investigators. Grants will be awarded annually on a competitive basis.

"Grants made possible by the Burgess Wilson bequest will provide amazing opportunities for our researchers," says School of Nursing Dean Kathy Dracup. "We're extremely grateful for planned gifts such as Mrs. Burgess Wilson's, and we hope other alumni will follow her lead."

A lifelong California resident, Marie Burgess graduated in 1938 from the University of California nursing program, which was based at UC Berkeley before later consolidation on the UCSF campus. Family friend and estate trustee Elmer Altnow describes Burgess Wilson as extraordinarily grateful for her education and loyal to the nursing program.

"Marie felt that the training she received gave her the ability and confidence to succeed," says Altnow, adding that she was so committed to giving to the School that she weighed every purchase against the effectiveness of her eventual bequest.

"She bought a sewing machine once," recalls Altnow, "and said, 'I wonder how that money could have helped the School of Nursing?'"