A recent $20 million gift from Joseph P. Healey P’22 P’24 will create a permanent endowment for a scholarship for U.S. military veterans.
The gift was announced at the University’s annual Veterans’ Day Ceremony on Nov. 11 by President Christina H. Paxson P’19. While the event normally takes place on campus at Soldiers Memorial Arch, it was held entirely online this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Healey, a U.S. army veteran himself and the son of a Brown alum, said in his speech at the Veterans Day Ceremony that he hopes the gift will provide more veterans with the opportunity to attend the University.
The announcement follows a series of University initiatives to increase accessibility for student veterans at Brown. In 2019, the University announced its plan to make veteran admissions need-blind and to eliminate standardized test score requirements and out-of-pocket admission costs for veterans beginning this school year. Collectively, these policies aim to double the undergraduate student veteran population by 2024.
Half of Healey’s gift will go toward the Elaine and Joseph Healey Scholarship for Veterans, establishing a permanent endowment that will mark an important step toward the University’s fulfillment of its goal to double the number of student veterans at Brown.
The remaining $10 million will establish a scholarship for resumed undergraduate education students, many of whom have past military service. This scholarship will prioritize student veterans.
With Healey’s gift, Brown has reached $11.3 million of the $25 million endowment needed to provide full financial support to student veterans during their time at Brown.
The RUE scholarship is created in honor of Healey’s mother, who earned her degree as part of the University’s RUE program in 1980. She was admitted to Brown in 1976 as a single mother, and, according to Healey, “she took a RIPTA bus from Warwick to Providence every day for four years to earn her degree,” Healey said.
“While I didn’t attend Brown, this University has had an incredible impact on my life and the life of my family,” Healey said in his speech. “In many ways, this gift encapsulates two of the most important aspects of my life. The first is service to my country and the second is education — specifically, the doors that have been opened to my family through education.”
“At my core, I believe that service to your country is truly one of the highest callings that there is,” Healey said. “That’s why it’s important that we honor our veterans today and always.”
Jack Walker served as senior editor of multimedia, social media and post- magazine for The Herald’s 132nd Editorial Board. Jack is an archaeology and literary arts concentrator from Thurmont, Maryland who previously covered the Grad School and staff and student labor beats.
