5/15/2009 8:53:00 AM Couple's donation caps off campaign School will be named the J. Paul and Eleanor McIntosh School of Nursing
DENNIS MEYER/DAILY NEWSJ. Paul McIntosh of Norfolk shakes hands with Dr. Bill Path following a press conference Thursday afternoon announcing the gift of more than $1 million from McIntosh and his wife, Eleanor, to the University of Nebraska College of Medicine College of Nursing Northern Division.
Once upon a time, Eleanor McIntosh dreamed of becoming a nurse.
But back in the 1940s, most women became teachers. And so did McIntosh.
Five years into her teaching career, she married. Then came children. Try as she might, she couldn't talk any of her daughters into becoming nurses.
So the dream of having a nurse in the family was put on hold.
That unfulfilled dream is part of the reason why J. Paul and Eleanor McIntosh donated more than $1 million to the University of Nebraska College of Medicine's new College of Nursing Northern Division. The facility will be built on the campus of Northeast Community College.
That donation wrote the Norfolk couple's names in the history books and also chiseled it on the side of the facility, which, from now on, will be known as the J. Paul and Eleanor McIntosh College of Nursing.
"This new college of nursing will educate good nurses to serve in our entire area," Eleanor McIntosh said. "I'm delighted to have the facility here."
The Norfolk couple have a long history of philanthropy in Norfolk and Northeast Nebraska. Several years ago, among other donations, they established a scholarship fund at the college.
During a press conference Thursday to announce the gift, McIntosh credited his parents for instilling in him the desire to contribute to the betterment of the community.
"When I think of those people whose lives have been cut short . . . it made it easy to share," McIntosh said.
The couple's donation capped off a campaign that began in February 2008 to raise $11.9 million to build and equip the 43,700-square-foot building that will house UNMC's bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs and Northeast's basic nurse aide, licensed practical nurse and associate's degree in nursing programs.
"We . . . accept this gift, knowing that nursing students will benefit greatly from the generosity of J. Paul and Eleanor," said Dr. Bill Path, Northeast president.
Path's comments were echoed by Mike Flood of Norfolk, speaker of the Nebraska Legislature, who helped make the idea of building a nursing school in Norfolk a reality.
"What a fitting tribute to name this building after two people who have given a lifetime of community service, raised a wonderful family and who both deeply care about the promise and potential of quality education," he said.
However, McIntosh downplayed the fact that the building will bear the couple's names.
"The important thing is that we have the facility. The name is immaterial," he said.
