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Kathy Dracup has the kind of ties to UCSF that bind for life. Now in her sixth year as dean of the UCSF School of Nursing, she knows well what it's like to teach and lead at UC institutions and—having received graduate degrees at both UCLA and UCSF—what it's like to prepare for a career at these schools.
Her commitment to higher public education runs in the family: Kathy's husband, John, is a graduate school professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley. "John and I have dedicated our careers to the University of California," Dracup explains, "because we believe in public education, the University's model of faculty governance, and its tradition of excellence."
State funding for graduate institutions has dwindled over the past few years, and Dracup admits that the School of Nursing is forced to turn away many qualified applicants. With the nation's nursing shortage reaching a crisis point, she knows that private support will determine whether the School is able to adequately train the next generation of nurses.
"Being a dean, I've discovered that for schools to prosper and grow, they must have the support of alumni and faculty," she says. To that end, the Dracups have committed $1 million to their respective UC campuses: A bequest commitment of $500,000 will establish an endowed chair at the UCSF School of Nursing, with a second $500,000 bequest providing fellowships to environmental engineering graduate students at UC Berkeley.
"Supporting nursing education now will have far-reaching effects," Dracup says.
"Establishing an endowed chair at the School of Nursing will help shape both the future of the School and the lives of a new generation of nurses trained at UCSF."
To learn more about giving to the UCSF School of Nursing, contact Mark Boone at 415/502-8310 or mboone@support.ucsf.edu.
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