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Akerses Designate Annuity for Scholarship Fund
Family dedication to health care inspires couple to help future generations of nursing students
A devotion to health care in general and nursing, specifically, has become a family tradition for William “Bill” W. Akers, Ph.D., and his wife, Nancy, so it seemed logical to the couple to establish the Nancy A. Akers Endowed Scholarship at The University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston five years ago.
UT School of Nursing (SON) students and Akers scholarship recipients
Loni Savage, second from right, and
Shannon Collins, far right, speak
with Bill and Nancy Akers. Both students will graduate in May. Savage
already
has accepted a position in the Intensive Care Unit at St.
Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, and Collins hopes to complete
an
anesthesia master’s program at SON. Photo by Michele Mocco
Recently, the Akerses decided to augment their endowment with the proceeds of a charitable gift annuity currently valued in excess of $580,000.
Not only was Bill Akers’ mother a nurse, but the couple’s daughter, Susan Hirtz, is a nurse, as well. Hirtz earned a master’s degree in 1992 from the UT School of Public Health and currently works at Texas Children’s Hospital. The Akerses also have another daughter, Carol Klug, who works in finance.
Bill Akers credits his wife with the decision to create the nursing scholarship fund named in her honor. Nancy Akers said she had the opportunity to see, first-hand, the often challenging and crucial work nurses perform daily through her daughter’s experience in nursing school and on the job as an Intensive Care Unit nurse.
“The ultimate gift to humanity is teaching these nurses to carry out the program and to be there for the patient,” Nancy Akers said. “A well-informed nurse can be an advocate for the patient.”
Bill Akers said establishing the scholarship fund has allowed the couple to receive an immediate emotional reward from their donation by meeting the students and knowing the contribution was needed and appreciated.
William “Bill”W. Akers, Ph.D., looks at his wife,
Nancy, namesake of the
couple’s Nancy A. Akers
Endowed Scholarship at the UT School of
Nursing at Houston. Photo by Wendy K. Mohon
“It pays a higher dividend than any other investment,” he said of creating the endowment.
Nancy Akers added, “It makes us feel good to know we’ve helped fulfill a need.”
Nursing student Shannon Collins was awarded a $1,000 Nancy A. Akers Endowed Scholarship in 2004 and will graduate in May 2006.
“Receiving the scholarship has been really wonderful and has given me the opportunity to concentrate more on school and less on work,” Collins said. “It allowed me to fulfill my dream of becoming a nurse.”
Earning the scholarship also made Collins eligible for in-state tuition, making the remainder of her schooling more affordable for the Louisiana native.
Nursing is a family tradition for Collins, as well. Her mother is a nurse, who lives in Lafayette with Shannon’s father, who has advanced stage Alzheimer’s disease. Collins said much of the money she saved for nursing school has gone toward her father’s health care, and the family home was ravaged by Hurricane Rita, making the scholarship assistance all the more precious to the young woman.
Collins has twice had the opportunity to meet with the Akerses and personally thank the couple for the impact their endowed scholarship has made on her academic career. “Plus, they’re just lovely people,” Collins added.
Dean of the School of Nursing Patricia Starck, D.S.N., points out that the Akerses’ commitment to supporting nursing students has a far-reaching positive effect.
“Bill and Nancy are two of the most caring people I know,” Starck said. “They get great joy out of helping students, and they are making a difference in not only the lifetime career of a nurse, but in the lives of all the many patients who will be cared for by that nurse.”
The Akerses have enjoyed a long relationship with UT. Since 1995 Nancy Akers has been a member of PARTNERS, the School of Nursing community support group dedicated to raising funds for scholarships, research and special projects.
Bill Akers is a member of the UT System Chancellor’s Council. After earning his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at Texas Tech University, he graduated with a master’s degree from UT Austin in 1944. He completed his doctorate at the University of Michigan.
He is a professor emeritus of chemical engineering at Rice University, where he worked for 46 years, serving as chairman and in positions as vice president.
In the late 1960s, he led the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory at Rice. In collaboration with Michael DeBakey, M.D., now chancellor of Baylor College of Medicine, Bill Akers helped to produce the first successful left ventricular heart bypass device, a precursor to the artificial heart and to the ventricular assist device in wide use today as a bridge to heart transplantation.
The Akers Scholarship Endowment awards singlesemester scholarships between $1,000 and $1,500. To date, 13 Akers scholarships have been awarded on the basis of need and academic merit. Other current Nancy A. Akers Endowed Scholars are: Heather Anderson, Tammy DeLaGarza, Colleen Kimball, Loni Savage and Leonora Watkins.
By Wendy K. Mohon, Development