A Phenomenal Program!

Joy Baxt is leaving a generous gift to the general fund of the College of Nursing through her will. "I don't know what the needs of the college will be at that time, so I'm not specifying a purpose for this money," Joy said.

Always utilizing her nursing skills in the many varying roles in her life, Joy received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wayne State. "My husband was working on his law degree at the University of Michigan but Wayne State's College of Nursing had the program I wanted and needed, so I commuted from Ann Arbor," Joy said. "It was, and continues to be, a phenomenal program, meeting the individual needs of each student."

Many years after moving to Washington, D.C., Joy reconnected with Wayne State's College of Nursing and was very impressed with the leadership and dedication of Dean Barbara Redman and Mary Hollens, the college's major gift officer. She decided that the best way to give back to the college was to get involved and she joined the board of visitors. She currently is co-chairing the college's capital campaign.

"I am so confident of the College of Nursing's leadership and quality of faculty and research that I'm comfortable not only giving my own money, but also asking others to support the program," Joy noted. "I am proud of the university's diversity and excellence as an urban institution. Students of all backgrounds and economic levels can create their future at Wayne State, just as I did."