Dean Evarts to donate $2 million to University

HERSHEY -- Giving back to the University is becoming a tradition for University employees.

Vice President for Health Affairs Dr. C. McCollister Evarts and his wife, Nancy, will continue that tradition when they donate $2 million to fund a student scholarship and a faculty chair in the College of Medicine, University President Graham Spanier announced at the University Board of Trustees meeting Friday.

"The Evarts gift is an extension of the tradition of giving back," Spanier said.

Of the money, $1.5 million will fund the chair to support the work of a distinguished professor, Spanier said. The additional $500,000 will create a need- and merit-based scholarship for a medical student.

The couple chose to support the College of Medicine because they have both dedicated their lives to the medical field, Evarts said. He is the dean of the college and has been with the University's Hershey Medical Center since 1986, according to a news release from the Department of Public Information.

Nancy Evarts graduated from the University of Rochester School of Nursing and serves within the Hershey and University communities, according to the release.

"What we've both grown to understand is the commitment to excellence at the University," Evarts said. The emphasis on faculty and student support is consistent with the focus of the upcoming capital campaign -- a period when the University makes a push for private donations. The campaign, which Evarts will be working with, and his love of the University influenced the couple's decision.

"As you know, you begin to bleed blue and white," he joked. "I think this represents a sort of a hemorrhage."