Brenau University, which offers an undergraduate residential women’s college in Gainesville, Georgia, and several co-educational satellite campuses and graduate programs, has renamed its nursing school to honor Mary Inez Grindle. The renaming of the school was made possible by a gift from the Melvin Douglas and Victoria Kay Ivester Foundation. Victoria Kay Ivester is Mary Inez Grindle’s daughter. Doug Ivester is the former CEO of Coca-Cola Inc. and a long-time member of the university’s board of trustees.
The university did not disclose the amount of the gift, only saying that it was “substantial.” Income from the donation will be used to fund scholarships for students in health science degree programs, including nursing.
Dina Hewett, director of nursing programs at Brenau University, stated that the nursing school “has a critical need for scholarships at every level – from undergraduate to doctoral. Many of our students, for example, are career changers with degrees in other fields and there simply is not the same kind of aid available for them as for new undergraduates. For master’s degree and doctoral candidates, financial aid is essentially off the table because very little exists for them.”
Dr. Hewett became director of nursing at the university in 2014. She is a graduate of Brenau University, where she majored in nursing. Dr. Hewett earned a master’s degree in adult clinical nursing from Georgia Southern University and a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Georgia.
The newly named nursing school enrolls about 300 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs. It operates on the Gainesville campus, the Norcross, Georgia, campus and online.