Annual GCU Fund-Raiser Honors President Emerita Jeffries and Outstanding Health Care Partner
In 1827, Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, opened the first House of Mercy to shelter and educate women and girls. Mother McAuley’s spirit of compassion and service to others lives on in Sister of Mercy Rosemary E. Jeffries, Ph.D., president emerita of Georgian Court University, and in the work of Meridian Health, one of the region’s largest employers.
The former university president and Meridian Health are the 2016 honorees for Georgian Court University’s annual Golf Classic, which will be held Monday, May 16, at Spring Lake Golf Club in Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey. The event benefits Georgian Court scholarships.
“We are pleased to have golfers and other guests join GCU at this outing to benefit deserving college students,” said Joseph R. Marbach, Ph.D., president of Georgian Court University. “For many of our students, donations and support from those who believe in higher education can make a huge difference. We are committed to helping families afford a college education, and donor generosity allows Georgian Court, the only Catholic university serving Central and South Jersey, to deliver a values-based, value added education.”
About 95 percent of GCU students receive scholarships, grants, and other financial assistance. Each year, GCU awards more than $12 million in scholarships funded in part by donor contributions. In 2015, the GCU Golf Classic raised upward of $130,000 to benefit students.
Creating, Strengthening Opportunities
Now in its 21st year, the annual Golf Classic recognizes community and corporate contributions of outstanding individuals with the Joseph E. Buckelew Civic Service Award, for which President Emerita Jeffries is the 2016 recipient. Beginning this year, GCU is also establishing a Corporate Service Award.
“I am grateful for the honor and I appreciate that support for this event really helps to make the educational dreams of students a reality,” said President Emerita Jeffries.
President Emerita Jeffries, who led the once-women’s college to the achievement of university status, expanded on Mother McAuley’s original mission with the university’s transition to full coeducation in 2013, noting that she “wanted to strengthen the opportunity for students to receive an education in the Mercy tradition.”
The inaugural corporate recipient is Meridian Health, which partnered with Georgian Court in 2008 to launch the Georgian Court–Meridian Health School of Nursing and establish a B.S.N. nursing degree. Meridian Health, a leading not-for-profit health care organization in New Jersey, has consistently been rated among the top performing health systems in New Jersey for clinical quality and is the recipient of the national John M. Eisenberg Award for Patient Safety and Quality from The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum. Meridian is recognized for patient care and nursing excellence, including being the first health system in the country to achieve Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center at all of its original hospitals.
“Georgian Court University has a special place in my heart,” said John K. Lloyd, president and CEO of Meridian Health. “We are honored that GCU selected Meridian Health as the first recipient of their Corporate Service Award.
“Ever since we formed the Georgian Court–Meridian Health School of Nursing in 2008, Georgian Court has been a trusted and valued partner of ours, and we look forward to continuing that relationship for years to come,” said Mr. Lloyd, who was recently named among NJBiz magazine’s Power 50 Health Care honorees.
Still Time to Register
Online registration is available at georgian.edu/golf. Participants will begin the day with an 11:00 a.m. BBQ lunch, followed by a noon shotgun start. Cocktails and a silent auction follow at 5:30 p.m., with dinner and a celebratory program at 6:30 p.m.
For more than two decades, GCU’s annual event has drawn business leaders, alumni, faculty, staff, and community supporters to local golf courses for a day of fun and fund-raising for student scholarships.
For more information about GCU’s 21st Annual Golf Classic benefiting scholarships, visit georgian.edu/golf or contact Eileen Fedele, GCU advancement coordinator, at 732-987-2232 or fedelee@georgian.edu.
About Rosemary E. Jeffries, RSM, Ph.D.
Rosemary E. Jeffries, RSM, Ph.D., ’72 was inaugurated in 2001 as the eighth president of Georgian Court College. She shepherded the institution through the process of changing from college to university status, which was awarded in 2004. She led a 2008 capital campaign that drew $17.2 million in donations and gifts, and led GCU’s expansion from a traditional women’s college to a fully coeducational university. In 2015, she was honored for her 14-year tenure and was named president emerita.
About Meridian Health
Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization in New Jersey, comprising Jersey Shore University Medical Center and K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune, Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, Bayshore Community Hospital in Holmdel, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge and Perth Amboy, and Meridian Partner Companies that include home care and hospice services, skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers, ambulatory care, ambulance services, fitness and wellness centers, and outpatient centers that allow the full continuum of health care services to be offered locally. In May 2015, Meridian Health and Hackensack University Health Network signed a definitive agreement to merge. Meridian Health has consistently been rated among the top performing health systems in New Jersey for clinical quality and nationally is the recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Award for Patient Safety and Quality from The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum. Meridian is one of the FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work For” for six consecutive years. Earlier in 2015, Great Place to Work® and Fortune recognized Meridian Health as one of the 20 Best Workplaces in Health Care in the nation and the number one Best Place to Work for Women. Meridian is recognized for patient care and nursing excellence, including being the first health system in the country to achieve Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center at all of its original hospitals. Additionally, Meridian’s mission of training the next generation of health care professionals is vital to providing a foundation for sound health in our community. In 2008, Meridian Health launched a four-year nursing program in partnership with Georgian Court University. Hospitals and Health Networks Magazine has also honored Meridian as one of the nation’s 100 Most Wired Health Systems for 16 consecutive years. Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies. For more information, visit www.MeridianHealth.com.
