The Julia O. Wells Memorial Education Foundation Makes Historic Gift to Excelsior University Nursing Programs

The Foundation's $300,000 gift continues a nearly 40-year legacy of supporting Excelsior students.
President of the Julia O. Wells Memorial Education Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors Kathleen Bagley Santarcengelo and Excelsior University President David Schejbal sign the gift agreement securing $300,000 in funds from the Foundation to establish an endowment at Excelsior to support nursing student scholarships.

ALBANY, N.Y. — Excelsior University and the Julia O. Wells Memorial Education Foundation, Inc. signed an agreement securing a $300,000 gift supporting Excelsior nursing students. The donation will establish the Julia O. Wells Memorial Education Foundation, Inc. Scholarship at Excelsior University, an endowment to provide Excelsior nursing scholarships in perpetuity. 

Made as the Foundation concludes its operations, the $300,000 gift is the capstone in a long history of Excelsior nursing scholarship support beginning in 1989. Established in recognition of the legacy of Julia O. Wells, a 1918 graduate of the Memorial Hospital Training School for Nurses in Albany, the Foundation’s previous gifts to Excelsior total $260,000. To date, this support has helped approximately 300 individual students pursue academic and professional goals in healthcare.  

“Excelsior University is grateful for the Julia O. Wells Memorial Education Foundation’s decades of generous support for nursing students,” said Robin Goodrich, Excelsior University College of Nursing and Health Sciences Purnell executive dean. “The Foundation’s final donation will carry on Julia O. Wells’ legacy for many decades to come, through generations of nurses who will use the opportunity this scholarship creates to complete their education and serve communities around the world.”   

“The Julia O. Wells Memorial Education Foundation, Inc. is officially dissolving, but our mission of educating nursing is simply changing form to last forever. Our commitment to ‘growing nurses’ will now live on in perpetuity,” said Kathleen Bagley Santarcengelo, president of the Julia O. Wells Memorial Education Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors. “Signing this gift agreement with Excelsior University is both an ending and a profound new beginning. We are handing Excelsior the torch and know that they will keep it lit.”

Candice Johnson, an Excelsior University Class of 2026 graduate who earned a Master of Science in Nursing Leadership and Administration of Healthcare Systems, is one of many students who have received scholarship funding through the Julia O. Wells Memorial Education Foundation. Johnson said, “As a nursing student at Excelsior University, this scholarship not only helped ease the financial burden of my education but also inspired me to continue striving for excellence in my academic and professional pursuits. The Julia O. Wells Memorial Education Foundation’s belief in my potential reinforces my commitment to serving others and making a meaningful impact in the field of healthcare.” 

This $300,000 donation represents a landmark gift in the Excelsior’s recently announced Empower with Purpose campaign, the largest capital campaign in the institution’s history. The University has now raised $4.4 million toward its $5 million campaign goal.  

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Media Contact Excelsior University: 
Jason Bonafide, jbonafide@excelsior.edu, 518-608-8446   

Acerca de la Universidad Excelsior 

Excelsior University is an accredited, not-for-profit online institution focused on helping adults complete their degrees and advance their careers. Excelsior contributes to the development of a diverse, educated, and career-ready society by valuing lifelong learning with an emphasis on serving individuals historically underrepresented in higher education. Founded in 1971, Excelsior meets students where they are — academically and geographically — removing obstacles to the educational goals of adults pursuing continuing education and degree completion. Our pillars include innovation, flexibility, academic excellence, and integrity.   

Excelsior es una universidad sin ánimo de lucro con un campus principal en Albany, Nueva York, y un centro educativo en San Petersburgo, Florida. Los programas académicos de la Universidad Excelsior están registrados en el Departamento de Educación del Estado de Nueva York, con licencias adicionales para los programas con sede en Florida.   

Autorizada por la Comisión de Educación Independiente del Departamento de Educación de Florida (n.º de licencia 12928). Para obtener más información sobre esta institución, comuníquese con la Comisión en 325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1414, Tallahassee, FL 323099-0400, número gratuito: (888)-224-6684.