An endowment has been established by James Linder, M.D., and his family, to benefit nursing students at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing. The Mary Ann Linder Memorial Nursing Scholarship was established in memory of Mary Ann Linder by her son James Linder, M.D., and her grandchildren, Emily, Kari and Eric Linder.
Earnings from the endowment will provide scholarships, ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 per year, to students who are single parents in financial need and in good academic standing.
Mary Ann Linder is the late mother of Dr. Linder, UNMC associate vice chancellor for research and president and CEO of UNeMed, UNMC’s technology transfer organization. Mary Ann was a single mother who battled multiple sclerosis. Her first symptoms appeared at age 18, and by her early 30s, when Dr. Linder was 10 years old, she was completely disabled. She died in 2001 at the age of 64.
In the last 20 years of her life, she was cared for in the Cavanaugh Care Center at Douglas County Hospital, where she was a counselor to many staff members when they faced personal challenges. Dr. Linder said supporting a scholarship to aid nursing students honors his mother and the nursing staff at the center.
“The last 20 years of my mother’s life were only possible because of good nursing care,” said Dr. Linder. “The care the nursing staff provided kept her alive for many years so that she could see her grandchildren grow.
“The nurses were more than caregivers – they were also friends born from the long relationships they had together,” he said. “She helped them by showing them in the way she dealt with her disability that virtually any obstacle could be overcome with a strong will and faith in your spiritual beliefs.”
As a child, Dr. Linder also saw firsthand the financial difficulty of being a single parent, as the family lost their house when he was 9 years old.
“Our family thought that creating a scholarship to help students who shoulder the simultaneous tasks of supporting children, working, and attending college was a wonderful opportunity,” Dr. Linder said. “We hope that it will make life a bit easier, possibly providing more time for their children.”
Dr. Linder said many other students of various disciplines are in great financial need. “I hope UNMC alumni will consider supporting students with more scholarships though the University of Nebraska Foundation,” he said.
Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., said she is honored that Dr. Linder chose to support nursing students.
“It will be our great honor to use this scholarship in Mary Ann Linder’s name,” Dr. Tilden said. “This generous gift from the Linder family shows the quality and values of her family. I am deeply grateful that the college can educate new generations of nurses who will be as compassionate and skilled as those who cared for Mary Ann Linder.”
Mary Ann Linder was born in 1930 to Mary and Edward Quinn, graduated at the top of her class at St. John’s High School and worked at Nebraska Public Power. She grew up in a house now gone to support growth of UNMC.
Her older brother, Edward Quinn, Jr., now 86 years old, remembers that the only building at UNMC at the time was the original hospital structure west of Wittson Hall. As children, they played on what now is the UNMC campus.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through their commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources now exceeds $80 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,400 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 513 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.
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