Evans and Dewberry gift strengthens the future of nursing at George Mason

George Mason University officially recognized the naming of the Arlene Evans and Barry Dewberry School of Nursing on Tuesday, honoring the couple's $15 million gift and its lasting impact on future generations of aspiring nurses.

College of Public Health students, faculty and staff, university leaders, community partners and government officials assembled at the Peterson Family Health Sciences Hall to thank Evans and Dewberry in person for their transformative gift. Evans is a retired operating room nurse.

"Those of you who know Arlene and Barry know that they do not do this work for recognition," said Trishana E. Bowden, vice president for advancement and alumni relations and president of the George Mason University Foundation. "They care deeply about our students. They care about our mission. They care that this is a university preparing people to do meaningful work in the world. And they care deeply about nursing."

Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources Marvin B. Figueroa said he appreciated the fact that a nurse's name will now grace George Mason's School of Nursing. The philanthropic gift will help the school stay current with rapidly evolving technology and to educate nurses to care for people living longer, with more complex conditions, he said.

"We have to prepare nurses not only for the world as it is, but also a world as it will be, all the while taking care of the person who's right in front of them," Figueroa said. "That is why this gift matters so much. It will support faculty who teach here, students who learn here, and working nurses who keep learning here."

George Mason University President Gregory Washington called the gift, the largest in the history of the College of Public Health, a "transformational investment" that reflects a profound belief in education, health care, and the power of people to make a difference.

"Through this gift, we can draw a direct connection between George Mason University and actually the greater good, the greater good in the country," Washington said. "A stronger School of Nursing means better-prepared graduates. Better-prepared graduates mean a stronger health care system. A stronger health care system means healthier families and a higher quality of life throughout our region. That is the power of the moment in which we all find ourselves."

College of Public Health Dean Melissa Perry said that over the past 50 years more than 11,000 students have arrived at the George Mason School of Nursing to turn their calling into competence. George Mason graduates make up nearly one-third of the region's nursing workforce.

"You have made a commitment to the future of nursing at George Mason that will ripple forward in ways neither of you will ever be able to foresee," Perry said. "The student who earns a scholarship he could not have afforded, the researcher who makes a discovery because she had the resources to pursue it, the nurse who leads a community clinic in a neighborhood that had none, but because of her education she was prepared not just to work in the health care system but to build one where it didn't exist. Arlene and Barry, you did not just fund a school. You funded a future."

One of those future health professionals is Farishta Mohibi, a doctor of nursing practice student who spoke on behalf of the 1,000 or so aspiring or current nurses enrolled at the school. The school's master of science and doctor of nursing practice degree programs are ranked #1 in Virginia by U.S. News & World Report.

"Every day, students in this school are working toward something that is most deeply demanding and deeply human," Mohibi said. "So when students look at this moment, we don't see only a name. We see a message. We see a message that nursing education matters. We see a message that this school matters. And we see a message that the people we are preparing to care for also matter."

Through misty eyes, Dewberry said he was humbled by the prior speakers' passion, and he encouraged others to find ways to support, with their time or resources, the people and organizations they most care about.

Evans and Dewberry are among the leading supporters of health philanthropy in the National Capital Region and also made a $10 million commitment to George Mason's Center for the Arts.

"Giving back, paying it forward-whatever you want to call it," said Dewberry, executive chairman of a planning, design, and construction company. "And you know, it is OK to feel good about serving. And to understand that when you share, you too have been blessed and enriched. It's giving back in the here and now. That's your legacy. Think of these acts as caring acts. Because that's what it is-caring."

The name change, approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, goes into effect on November 15.