Adelphi recently received a $1 million gift from our trailblazing nurse alumna, the late Mildred “Millie” Loughlin Kahane ’49. She was a first-generation scholarship recipient who became a leader—one inspired to “pay it forward.” The next generation of Adelphi nurses and our University are grateful for her generosity.
Adelphi University has received a $1 million gift to support nursing education. The bequest from Adelphi University College of Nursing and Public Health alumna Mildred “Millie” Loughlin Kahane ’49 will support nursing students who have financial need.
Three nursing scholarships are established by the gift—the Mildred Loughlin Kahane ’49 Scholarship, the Kahane Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Scholarship and the Peggy Ann Burleigh Memorial Scholarship, which provided support to Kahane herself as an Adelphi student. With applications for Adelphi’s College of Nursing and Public Health at an all-time high, and the critical call for public health professionals in light of the ongoing pandemic, Kahane’s gift will give a future generation of nurses an opportunity to earn an Adelphi degree.
“During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was in awe of our nursing students’ determination to be caregivers on the front lines,” said Christine M. Riordan, PhD, president of Adelphi University. “They were passionate about being part of the solution that people, our communities and the healthcare system desperately needed. Millie Kahane’s gift will help support that drive in our students. It’s an inspiring legacy to leave.”
Maryann Forbes, PhD ’99, interim dean of the College, added, “Ms. Kahane’s generous gift will support students at a time when the need for additional well-educated nurses in the workforce is of critical importance.”
Kahane, a 1949 graduate of Adelphi who died in September 2020, was the first in her family to attend college. From humble means, her attendance at Adelphi was made possible by a scholarship. One of the University’s original U.S. nurse cadets, she went on to become the first executive director of the Alaska board of nursing. Kahane also worked for Kaiser Permanente in Sacramento, California, and served as a faculty member at UC Davis, where she helped develop the nurse practitioners program and was one of the early pioneers of community health nursing.
A trailblazer in her field, Kahane credited her scholarship with enabling her to earn a degree and fulfill her career aspirations. That gratitude was the impetus for her to pay it forward, supporting Adelphi and its students by establishing several endowments in her lifetime.
“Millie Kahane was dedicated to community-based nursing and public health, as well as to supporting our College’s students through her scholarships,” said Elaine Smith ’78, MS ’88, EdD, who recently retired as dean of Adelphi’s College of Nursing and Public Health. “I had the privilege of getting to know her, and she often attributed her commitment to nursing and her trailblazing career to the education she received at Adelphi. Millie’s generous gift makes the same opportunities possible for generations of future Adelphi nurses. We are honored to be part of her legacy.”
We will honor remarkable women leaders like Millie Kahane this March 26th at Adelphi’s annual Women’s Leadership Conference – 125 Years of Women in Leadership. Thomas Kline, EdD, vice president of University Advancement and External Relations, said “Mildred Loughlin Kahane exemplifies all that we seek to commemorate on this occasion: her story of personal and professional success, combined with a dedication to her alma mater and her support of future generations of Adelphi students. A true trailblazer, may her spirit and fortitude inspire future Adelphi leaders to pay it forward.”
See more about nursing at Adelphi, Millie Kahane, as well as ways to support students.