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CLEVELAND, Ohio — The family of Marian K. Shaughnessy, founder of the Marian K. Shaughnessy Nurse Leadership Academy, recently made an $8 million matching gift to bolster the academy’s work and support its students through scholarships. The academy — part of the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University — is a center for nursing leadership development. This latest philanthropic gift commitment marks the single largest gift to the university’s school of nursing since its inception and brings the Shaughnessy family’s total giving to Case Western Reserve University to more than $16 million, the university said. The $8 million donation also is intended to be a matching gift that inspires others to donate, as the school launches a $25 million fundraising initiative to strengthen the nursing academy. “This historic gift enhances the Marian K. Shaughnessy Nurse Leadership Academy and elevates the school’s role in placing nurse leadership at the center of healthcare,” said Ron Hickman, dean of Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. “The generosity of the Shaughnessy family is a transformative act of confidence in the power of nurse leaders.” The nurse leadership academy launched in 2018 through a $5 million gift from Marian Shaughnessy and her husband Michael, and friends and family members who wanted to support their vision. Marian died in 2020. Supporters created the leadership academy to redefine the role of nurses in healthcare policy, solidifying nurses’ position as critical decision-makers from the bedside to the boardroom, the university said. The academy found a physical home at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic in 2021, after a $2.5 million gift from Michael and their daughters, Anne Shaughnessy-Marchetto and Kate Shaughnessy Biggar. “The Shaughnessy family has been visionary in their solutions to strengthen nurse leadership and dedicated in bringing them to life at Case Western Reserve,” said university president Eric W. Kaler. Since its inception, the academy has developed leadership programs such as a 13-month cohort-based program in which 25 senior nursing executives come together to study and devise ways to make healthcare more patient-centered, cost-effective, accessible and quality-driven. Recent fellowship participants came from across the United States, as well as Ireland, Kenya, the Philippines, Italy and other countries, the university said. The Shaughnessy family also has committed to make a $100,000 gift toward an endowed professorship to honor Joyce Fitzpatrick, professor of nursing at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. Marian Shaughnessy first crafted the idea for the academy in a 2012 leadership class taught by Fitzpatrick, the university said. The professorship would recognize a Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing faculty member who embodies the exceptional leadership skills Fitzpatrick displays daily as she guides future nurse leaders at the academy.
