EUGENE, Ore.–Recognizing the enormous need for nurses driven by the pandemic and wildfires in Lane County, donors Alan Yordy and Joan Kropf have made a gift to the Lane Community College Foundation that will increase a nursing scholarship endowment to $600,000.
Yordy and Kropf established the Margaret Larsen Nursing Endowment 12 years ago with an initial gift of $50,000 to honor their friend and colleague. Larsen studied nursing at LCC and worked as a pediatric nurse at Sacred Heart Medical Center for more than 35 years. This month, the couple gave the Foundation a rental property whose sale proceeds will increase the endowment to more than $600,000.
“This gift will dramatically reduce financial barriers for many deserving students and will open doors for future nurses in Lane County for years to come,” said LCC President Margaret Hamilton.
“Alan and Joan are passionate about nursing education, LCC’s nursing program, and Margaret Larsen’s legacy as an inspirational nursing leader and mentor,” said LCC Foundation Director Wendy Jett.
The endowment currently funds a single $6,000 annual scholarship. The new gift will generate approximately $25,000 annually, enabling the Foundation to offer multiple Margaret Larsen scholarships beginning in fall 2022.
LCC admits 106 students a year to its nursing programs. The two-year registered nursing program costs about $32,897, and the one-year licensed practical nurse program costs about $14,530. Graduates consistently achieve high pass rates on their licensure exams and the majority stay in the community as nurses in the local workforce.
Yordy is former president and CEO of PeaceHealth (1999-2015). He and his wife Joan have lived and worked in Eugene, Bellevue and Vancouver, WA. They are current members of the Lane Community College Foundation Legacy Society.
Alan Yordy and Joan Kropf
For more information about nursing education at Lane Community College, visit the Health Professions webpage.
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Lane Community College educates over 25,000 students annually at six locations across Lane County and online. Students and alumni from all 50 states and 79 countries create more than an $850 million dollar impact on the local economy, helping to support more than 13,000 local jobs. Lane provides affordable, quality, professional technical and college transfer programs; business development and employee training; academic, language and life skills development; and lifelong personal development and enrichment courses.