$2.1 million Bedford Falls Foundation gift will enhance student success
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Student success is the focus of a $2.1 million gift to the UIC College of Nursing from the Bedford Falls Foundation, a private foundation started by The Carlyle Group co-founder and co-chairman William “Bill” E. Conway, Jr. and his late wife, Joanne.
The gift will go toward three funds at UIC Nursing: a scholarship program for Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students, a summer prep program for incoming pre-licensure students, and a student emergency fund.
The Bedford Falls Foundation primarily focuses its philanthropy on nursing education and has made gifts to roughly 20 nursing schools, mostly in the mid-Atlantic states. UIC Nursing is the first recipient in the Midwest.
UIC Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda was instrumental in making the connection between the Bedford Falls Foundation and UIC Nursing.
“When I learned about Bedford Falls Foundation’s commitment to supporting nursing education and advancing social mobility, I saw tremendous alignment between the foundation and UIC,” Miranda said. “Our mission at UIC is to provide the broadest access to the highest levels of educational, research and clinical excellence — and this gift will help us do just that.”
Familial ties prompted the foundation to seek a partnership in Chicago. Bill Conway, Jr. got his MBA in finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His son, Bill Conway, III, is an alderman in Chicago and his daughter-in-law, Brittany, is a two-time alumna of the University of Illinois.
“Nurses are essential to America’s health, and schools like the UIC College of Nursing are positioned to prepare more well-qualified nurses to meet the nation’s healthcare needs,” Bill Conway, Jr. said. “By reducing the financial burden for students at the UIC College of Nursing, we hope those students can focus on their academics and find success in the program and their careers as nurses.”
The new scholarship program – the Joanne and William Conway Nursing Scholarship – will be targeted at BSN students with demonstrated financial need. The scholarships are intended to allow Conway Scholars to work fewer outside hours at jobs, take out fewer loans, focus more on their studies, and graduate with fewer or no student loans.
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UIC Nursing is committed to educating and graduating a diversity of students – including those who are economically disadvantaged – so that the pool of working nurses is representative of the population at large.
UIC was ranked by U.S. News & World Report in its 2024 national college rankings among the top 20 “Performers on Social Mobility,” measured by the number of graduates who received Pell Grants. Most Pell Grants are awarded to students whose adjusted gross family incomes are under $50,000.
The Bedford Falls gift will also sustain a UIC Nursing pilot program called the Pre-licensure Readiness Education Program for Aspiring Registered nursEs. Formerly known as PREPARE, it will now be called The Bill and Brittany Conway PREPARE program. The foundation was drawn to the innovative program, which is a mostly virtual summer prep course for students entering the BSN and Master of Science in Nursing for non-RNs.
“The Bedford Falls gift will allow us to continue offering this critical program free of charge, ensuring that all our incoming pre-licensure students are prepared for the rigors of nursing school,” says Dean Eileen Collins. “We know that some of our students lost academic ground during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’re still seeing the effects of that, particularly in our foundational science courses. This gift will allow us to assess students before they even begin our program and fill in knowledge gaps so they’re ready to hit the ground running.”
Lastly, the gift will allow UIC Nursing to establish a student emergency fund called The Joanne Barkett Conway Student Emergency Fund. Students who experience a financial emergency that is beyond their control and would jeopardize their education will be able to apply for assistance from the fund. These needs can include such things as sudden changes to housing or transportation that could cause a student to drop out.
“I know from my own educational experiences at the University of Illinois what a transformative environment it can be,” Brittany Conway said, who received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2011 and her law degree from the UIC School of Law (then called John Marshall Law School) in 2014. “I’m pleased that this gift will be able to help nursing students succeed in their academic pursuits and graduate, going on to fill much-needed roles in the nursing workforce.”