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Anagnos Scholarship
Will Create Opportunities for Nursing Students
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Alex Anagnos
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Alex Anagnos touched a great many people during his life—patients, colleagues, students, friends—and the scholarship he chose to create at the UCSF School of Nursing will help others continue his legacy of caring.
Anagnos, who died in June 2005 at age 54, received his master of science in mental health and nursing administration from UCSF in 1979. He previously had received bachelor of science degrees in biochemistry and nursing from the University of Massachusetts and Cornell, respectively, and was in the PhD program at UCSF.
Well known as an advocate for the mentally ill, Anagnos was director of the San Francisco Behavioral Health Center and assistant clinical professor at the UCSF School of Nursing. He was the recent recipient of an award from the San Francisco Health Commission for exceptional service.
"Alex was a superb leader, administrator, and mental health clinician," recalls colleague Julia Faucett, RN, PhD, FAAN, professor and chair of the Department of Community Health Systems at UCSF. "He always made the patient the center of care and reminded his colleagues that the patient was the focus of everything they did."
At his memorial service, colleague Linda Chafetz, RN, DNS, reflected on Alex's remarkable life: "His buoyancy lifted the spirits of patients as it lifted our own. His humor allowed even the very ill to experience the healing power of laughter. We all knew that Alex could be very serious, strictly professional, even stern when he needed to be, particularly as an advocate for some of the most vulnerable individuals in the public health system. Here he marshaled his administrative talent to make things better for patients. In direct care, in meetings, in decisions about budgets or staffing, for Alex it was always about the patients."
Anagnos recognized the challenge of bringing greater numbers of students, especially young men, into the field of nursing and hoped the approximately $400,000 Alex Anagnos Nursing Scholarship Fund would encourage prospective students to explore the wide range of specialties and numerous leadership opportunities in nursing today. He also wanted to give back for the excellent education he received at UCSF.
"Establishing this scholarship was typical of his generosity," says Chafetz. "Alex was intensely interested in the students' backgrounds, their goals, their personal development, and professional futures. What a privilege it was for our students to work closely with this kind of guide and mentor."
To support the Alex Anagnos Nursing Scholarship Fund, contact Mark Boone at 415/502-8310 or mboone@support.ucsf.edu.
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