Former Nursing Faculty Member Adds To Scholarship Gift

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A former faculty member from the College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions is continuing to help students at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Dolores C. Bess and her husband William “Bill” E. Bess recently added $100,000 to a scholarship the couple created in 1994.

Since then, the Bess’ have invested more than $167,000 – including their most recent donation – into The Dolores Bess Endowed Scholarship in Nursing. The first scholarship from the Bess’ donations was awarded in 1995.

Mrs. Bess taught at UL Lafayette for 25 years. She received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Vanderbilt University, her master’s of public health from Tulane University and her master’s in nursing from Louisiana State University.

Mr. Bess attended the University of West Virginia and graduated from the University of Alabama. He is a retired independent engineer in the oil and gas industry. The couple will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this year.