The estate of Marquette University College of Nursing alumna Vivian Ann Hotuiz gave a $1.8 million gift for scholarship aid, the largest donation in the college’s history.
Hotuiz, who passed away Sept. 14, 2009, at age 94 in Tulsa, Okla., was a 1953 College of Nursing graduate.
“As with the rest of the university, the Marquette College of Nursing’s fund-raising priority is for scholarship aid for our students,” said Dr. Margaret Faut Callahan, dean of nursing. “This wonderful gift, from a very generous, visionary alumna, will help us provide substantial financial aid to our nursing students.”
Hotuiz worked at the Wood Veterans Hospital (now the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center) when she enrolled at Marquette to earn her bachelor’s degree in nursing. She served in World War II as a Navy nurse and continued in the medical profession throughout her career.
The last surviving member of her family, Hotuiz named the Marquette College of Nursing as the sole beneficiary of her estate—a gift she designated 15 years prior to her death.