Winter 2010: Campaign Chronicle

Portrait of Lynn Sibley

Lynn Sibley, associate professor of nursing and public health, will lead the Gates project, which is designed to improve maternal and newborn survival rates in rural Ethiopia.

Nursing, Oxford Receive Historic Gifts

In November, Emory’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing received the largest gift in the school’s history and Oxford College received its largest cash gift ever, enabling projects that will support programs, scholarships, and facilities.

The School of Nursing received $8.16 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a project designed to improve maternal and newborn survival rates in rural Ethiopia. Led by Emory anthropologist and nurse-midwife Lynn Sibley, a team of Emory faculty and graduate students will work with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health to create a community-oriented strategy to improve maternal and newborn health that will serve as a model throughout the country.

“Both mothers and babies are most vulnerable during birth and the early postnatal period—up to about forty-eight hours,” says Sibley. “We know what to do, but we need to learn how to better reach and engage women and their newborns at this critical time.”

Oxford College received a cash gift of $3.35 million from the Charles Edwin Suber Foundation, which was established by the estate of Charles Edwin “Ed” Suber, a 1942 graduate of Oxford College who passed away in November 2007. A portion of the Oxford College gift, $100,000, will be used to establish a scholarship in Suber’s name. The remaining $3.25 million will be used to support Oxford’s building program, including a new science facility, which would replace the current facility built in 1965, and a new library, replacing the current 1970 building. Candler School of Theology also received a cash gift of $903,177 from the Suber Foundation, which will be used for student, faculty, and facilities support.

The gifts will have a major influence on the schools’ faculty, students, and programs.

Stephen H. Bowen, dean of Oxford College, says, “When we look back after ten years, we will recognize this as a pivotal moment in the development of Oxford College.”

The largest single gift ever received by the School of Nursing, the Gates grant is a vote of confidence in the school’s strengths and accomplishments in global health. By funding a key priority within Campaign Emory, the grant enables the nursing school to focus on its remaining funding opportunities.

“Our campaign for the School of Nursing continues with the same sense of urgency and excitement,” says Dean Linda McCauley 79MN. “Gifts from those who love the School of Nursing will strengthen our leadership in nursing education, research, patient care, and health care policy, all in service to the global community.”

Combined with support from more than 67,800 alumni and friends, these gifts push Emory past the $1 billion mark of Campaign Emory’s $1.6 billion goal.

“During the first four years of Campaign Emory, alumni, friends, and supporters have generously made investment commitments of more than $1 billion,” says Emory University President James Wagner. “We gain courage and inspiration from those who reinforce the importance of our mission by giving generously to Emory, even in the midst of a difficult economy.”