Columbus, Ohio, February 10, 2021 – Mount Carmel College of Nursing is the recipient of a $210,000 gift from the Mount Carmel Alumni Association. The gift, from the estate of alumna Rachel L. Sheets Zook, was directed by the Alumni Association to MCCN’s “Our Legacy of Learning” campaign, established to strengthen, support and sustain the 118-year-old institution of higher learning. Zook was a 1954 graduate of MCCN’s predecessor, the Mount Carmel School of Nursing, which was founded in 1903 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross and transitioned in 1990 to today’s fully accredited College offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in Nursing.
“We are delighted the College has been remembered by Mrs. Zook, a nurse whose generosity will enhance our students’ success and contributions to the profession of nursing through support of faculty research and innovation, technology and evidence-based teaching strategies, and professional development,” says Kathleen Williamson, PhD, MSN, RN, academic dean and president, Mount Carmel College of Nursing. “We are grateful to our Alumni Association board members for their foresight in investing this gift to establish three programs that allow our faculty to continuously improve our preparation of graduates as competent and compassionate nurse leaders.”
The Alumni Association gift – the largest to the “Our Legacy of Learning” campaign to date, will establish the Rachel Zook, RN, Memorial Faculty Innovation Scholarship, inaugurate the Rachel Zook, RN, Memorial Speaker Series, and extend the existing MCCN Nightingale Faculty Fellows Program.
Rachel Zook was born Feb. 10, 1933, in Kilbourne, Ohio; graduated from Mount Carmel in 1954 and practiced at the Columbus Cancer Clinic (forerunner of today’s LifeCare Alliance) as well as physicians’ offices, and as a home nurse. She was married to Ronald Zook for 52 years before his passing in 2008 and had retired from nursing to raise and care for their son, who predeceased his parents. She was residing in Delaware, Ohio at the time of her passing, Oct. 18, 2016.
Campaign Facts
On Founder’s Day, Sept. 15, 2020, the “Our Legacy of Learning” campaign began with these goals:
Strengthen the College by investing in innovation in nursing education to help accelerate MCCN’s paradigm shift to advanced technological teaching tools that help prepare nurses who think critically and use evidence-based best practices to promote the health of individuals and communities.
Support MCCN students in their pursuit of higher education by providing scholarships and emergency funds that allow students from all faiths and walks of life to balance their academic and personal lives. As many as 93 percent of MCCN’s students rely on financial aid to answer their life’s calling to become professional nurses.
Sustain Mount Carmel’s legacy by ensuring the continuing creation of compassionate, caring and confident nurses who make up the thousands of Mount Carmel alumni around the country who are available to patients and families thanks to the Sisters of the Holy Cross having founded the School of Nursing in 1903 that transitioned in 1990 into the fully accredited, Mount Carmel College of Nursing of today.