INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE
Generous donors help build the Pathway to the BSN program from Arrupe SEVERAL YEARS AGO, two mem-
bers of the Loyola Nursing leadership team, Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Lee Schmidt, PhD, RN, and Assistant Dean for the BSN Program Jorgia Connor, PhD, RN, had an idea to create a pipeline to increase diversity in the nursing workforce. They partnered with Arrupe College, Loyola University Chicago’s two-year college that offers rigorous liberal arts education to a diverse population of first-generation students and students of color, to launch the Pathway to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Students complete year one of their studies through Arrupe
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College. Beginning in year two, students complete Arrupe College coursework concurrently with first-year courses of the BSN program. After earning their associate of arts degree, students complete the remaining three years of the BSN program, leading to earning a BSN degree and eligibility for the nursing licensure exam. The first group of students began the Pathway to the BSN in the Fall 2020 semester. “Our Pathway to the BSN program from Arrupe College is one of the foundational elements of Loyola Nursing’s Inclusive Excellence initiative to strengthen diversity, equity, and
L OYO L A U N I V E R S I T Y C H I C AG O M A R C E L L A N I E H O F F S C H O O L O F N U R S I N G
inclusion in the School of Nursing and the nursing workforce. It also is an inspiration to some very generous donors who have invested in it,” says Dean Lorna Finnegan, PhD, RN, FNP, FAAN, Loyola Nursing. KAREN AND BOB DESJARDINS
When Karen and Bob Desjardins heard about Arrupe’s transformational work with students from underrepresented backgrounds, it sparked their interest. As they learned more, the spark lit a flame that would blaze a new path for their family’s giving—and for the students’ lives they would change.
PEGGY AND TOM BELL
Peggy Bell’s deep appreciation for cura personalis — care for the whole person — is why she and her husband Tom enthusiastically support Loyola Nursing. “To me, Peggy’s education at Loyola represented a transformation that was life-changing,” says Tom. “I watched from the sidelines as Loyola shaped her.” In spring 2020, Peggy and Tom created a generous endowment that will fund scholarships for students in the Pathway to the BSN program from Arrupe College. “Through these scholarships, we can provide opportunities for more students to attend Loyola, specifically students from diverse backgrounds,” says Peggy. THE IMBURGIA FAMILY
A love of nursing has been woven into the fabric of Patrick and Lori Imburgia’s family for three generations. It started when Patrick’s mother graduated from Loyola–Oak Park’s nursing program, a predecessor of Loyola University Chicago’s Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing. Next, Patrick’s two sisters and two nieces pursued a nursing career. Then the couple’s two daughters donned nursing scrubs, too. Their oldest
PHOTO: ERIK UNGER
Jessica MartinezVega (Class of 2024) and Diana Duarte (Class of 2024) are students in the inaugural class of the Pathway to the BSN from Arrupe College.
Bob (MD ’71, MRES ’74) says they were amazed by the “really spectacularly successful” results at Arrupe College, which pairs a rigorous, affordable Jesuit education with intensive, wrap-around support services. Arrupe students have a two-year graduation rate that is more than three times the national average for community college students. More than 70 percent of Arrupe students who pursue a baccalaureate degree graduate within six years, far above the national average for underrepresented transfer students.
