Transformative investment signals start of new era
βAs a start-up entrepreneur blessed with commercial success, I aspired to pioneer a contribution in some important but overlooked field of philanthropy,β said Mr. Ingram. βI wanted to focus on academic nursing in Montreal, which I view as severely underfunded and generally under-recognized by private and public funders. I dare to dream that Montreal will become one of the top five metropolises in the world for developing nursing leadership.βΒ
βWe are deeply appreciative of this transformative gift, which will allow us to continue charting a world-leading course for the practice of nursing,β said Heather Munroe-Blum, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of ΊΪΑΟΙη. βΊΪΑΟΙηβs School of Nursing has been a leader in nursing education since it was founded nearly 100 years ago. Mr. Ingramβs generosity will enable the Ingram School of Nursing to enhance its trans-disciplinary research, and promote and facilitate evidence-informed nursing practices to meet the needs of patients and their families, here in Quebec, and broadly.βΒ
The new ΊΪΑΟΙη Nursing Collaborative Program brings together nurses in clinical practice, education, research, administration and graduate training at ΊΪΑΟΙη and the hospitals to tackle key areas of need in our community. The program also aims to build on the leadership of ΊΪΑΟΙηβs graduate nursing program, increasing admissions and the recruitment of top clinical nurse specialists and hospital-based researchers. The new Susan E. French Chair β named in honour of a former director of the School of Nursing β was created to support this new program. Dr. Sean Clarke, newly appointed director of the ΊΪΑΟΙη Nursing Collaborative Program, has been named the inaugural chairholder.
βNursing at ΊΪΑΟΙη already has a longstanding tradition of excellent clinical and research training programs from the bachelorβs through the postdoctoral levels and a great core of productive researchers, said Dr. Clarke. βMy role as Chair will be to build on a very strong community and strengthen ties between the teaching, research and practice arms of nursing in order to increase the national and international impact of our programs of research and education and of our models of clinical practice.β
βThis investment marks a milestone in the history of nursing in our Faculty,β said Dr. David Eidelman, Vice-Principal of Health Affairs and Dean of Medicine at ΊΪΑΟΙη. βThe School has been at the vanguard since its inception and continues to break new ground, experiencing dramatic growth with new graduate programs and collaborations that target societyβs needs, both in Quebec and internationally. The role of nursing is expanding in our health care system, and ΊΪΑΟΙη, with its partners, is proud to lead the way. βΒ
This latest investment builds on the recent announcement that the Quebec government will be awarding $35 million to ΊΪΑΟΙη to renovate and upgrade Wilson Hall, which houses the Ingram School of Nursing as well as ΊΪΑΟΙηβs School of Social Work.
About Richard S. IngramΒ After working in international development for five years in Latin America, Richard S. Ingram co-founded Archivex in 1973. It was sold in 1999 as the 4th largest (and largest privately-held) office records storage company in North America. Mr. Ingram used a portion of the proceeds to launch the Newton Foundation, which focuses on academic nursing in Montreal, with the aim of making the city one of the five leading metropolises in that area. His wife, Satoko, devotes significant time and money to LOVE (Leave Out Violence). Ingram holds a Bachelorβs of Arts in political science and economics (Honours) from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Harvard University.
About Dr. Sean ClarkeΒ Sean Clarke is a nurse researcher and educator specializing in health policy and hospital quality and safety. After obtaining his PhD in 1998 at ΊΪΑΟΙη, he was a tenured professor of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Toronto and managed research groups on health services at both institutions.
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PHOTO: Dr. David Eidelman, Vice-Principal (Health Affairs), ΊΪΑΟΙη, and Dean, Faculty of Medicine, ΊΪΑΟΙηDr. HΓ©lΓ¨ne Ezer, Director, Ingram School of Nursing, ΊΪΑΟΙηDr. Sean Clarke, Susan E. French Chair, Director, ΊΪΑΟΙη Nursing Collaborative ProgramSusan E. French, former Director, ΊΪΑΟΙη School of NursingMrs. Satoko IngramProf. Heather Munroe-Blum, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, ΊΪΑΟΙηRichard S. Ingram (CREDIT: Nicolas Morin)
