Fall 2003

Message from the Dean | First Faculty Fellowship Program | Former Dean Encourages Nurses to Speak Out | Fund-Raising Priorities | Meet Rosemary | College Inaugurates PhD Program

by Ellen K. Ashcraft

Among the half dozen bequests made by Nellie Matteucci to her favorite charities, the endowment to the UNM College of Nursing was “closest to her heart,” says Catherine Domenici, Matteucci’s niece. “Aunt Nellie was a nurse and had a soft spot in her heart for nursing and for people who couldn’t afford to go into nursing school.”

When Matteucci passed away at age 96 on Christmas Day, 2001, she left a large sum to benefit the profession in which she believed so much. With that gift, the College has created its first-ever faculty fellowship program, titled the “Aladino and Nellie Matteucci Faculty Fellowship.” A second endowment from the bequest, also named for Aladino and Nellie Matteucci, will provide scholarships for nursing students.

Matteucci arrived in Albuquerque in 1940 for the health of her first husband, who later died of tuberculosis. A registered nurse, she worked at Presbyterian Hospital and for several area physicians. Through her nursing, Matteucci formed many lifelong friendships. “In those days, there were little apartments nearby where nurses had rooms together and they could walk to the hospital,” says Domenici.

One day Matteucci went shopping at Paris Shoes where she met one of the owners, Louis (Aladino) Matteucci. She became his devoted wife for the many years until his death in 1996. “She was a wonderful homemaker and wife. She was so very kind, so good to my sister and me and our children. She couldn’t have been nicer,” Domenici says. “My girls respected her very much.”

Indeed, Matteucci’s generosity will earn the respect of many future nurses along with those who knew her personally. "Our most important jobs are teaching and finding the answers to nursing problems affecting our clients,” comments Dean of Nursing Sandra Ferketich. “The endowments created by the Matteucci family for students and faculty are helping us contribute to both of these goals."

The portion of the bequest funding the Matteucci Faculty Fellowship qualified for matching funds from the State of New Mexico under Senate Bill 14, the Endowment for University Excellence. The bill allows the state to match funds for private gifts earmarked to endow departmental chairs, professorships and other faculty positions at the state’s four-year universities.

The Matteucci endowed scholarship will fund one or two scholarship awards in the Fall 2004 semester. First preference is for graduate students enrolled full time and in good academic standing. Recipients will receive this award on a semester basis with the amount depending on the endowment earnings available each year.