The Catholic University of America will rename its nursing school as the Conway School of Nursing to honor Bill and Joanne Conway following the couple’s $20 million gift to the university’s nursing program. 

This donation brings the Conway’s total support of Catholic University’s nursing program up to $40 million, which will continue to fund scholarships for students as well as contribute to the establishment of a new nursing and sciences building on campus. 

“Our goal is to help educate 10,000 nurses in order to address our nation’s health care needs and the shortage of nurses in this country. The majority of our philanthropy has been directed toward this purpose,” Bill Conway said in a statement from Catholic University. 

Bill Conway sits on the Board of Trustees at the university and is the co-founder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group.

“We have been so pleased with the exceptional quality of the Catholic University nurses and can see the tremendous impact they will have on thousands of patients throughout their careers. While we have generally been very focused on scholarships, when we learned that the main obstacle to producing more of these great nurses was the university’s current facilities, we knew we had to invest in a new school building,” Bill Conway said. 

Without the support of the Conway family, many of the scholarship recipients would not be able to attend college or nursing school, School of Nursing Dean Patricia McMullen said.

“The nursing profession owes a great debt of gratitude to Bill and Joanne,” she said. “It is a privilege that our School of Nursing will be named in their honor.” 

According to CUA President John Garvey, the Conway’s gift will allow the school to double the size of its nursing program to more than 700 students. 

“That means doubling the number of nurses we graduate each year after the new building has been opened,” he said.

A celebration for the Conway School of Nursing will be held in the fall.