Representatives from St. Michael’s Episcopal Cathedral in Boise recently joined campus and Boise State Foundation leaders to formally establish the Bishop Funsten Nursing Scholarship.
The fund will support Idaho nursing students who want to continue the bishop’s dream of providing better healthcare for all Idahoans.
“This is a great example of the power of a community coming together to support something truly important,” said Kelley Connor, interim divisional dean of Boise State’s School of Nursing.
Funded by Episcopal parishioners in the Treasure Valley, the scholarship honors the 160th anniversary of the cathedral. It also celebrates a legacy of care and the close-knit history between the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho and Boise State University.
Tracing roots back to the Bishop
Bishop James Bowen Funsten served as one of Idaho’s longest-serving Episcopal bishops from 1898 until his death in 1918. In 1902, he started Boise’s St. Luke’s Hospital, which eventually became the Idaho health system that serves the region today.
But when Bishop Funsten started the hospital, there were too few nurses in Idaho to support it. He addressed the issue with St. Margaret’s school for girls, expanding their high school curriculum to include a nursing program and conducting clinical training at St. Luke’s Hospital.
Over the years St. Margaret’s evolved, first becoming Boise State Junior College in 1932 when Bishop Middleton Barnwell spearheaded the launch of a co-ed institution. The Boise State University we know today emerged thanks to the early efforts of these Episcopal bishops.
Committed support for student nurses
The signing ceremony included remarks from Matthew Ewing, CEO of the Boise State Foundation, as well as Dean of the College of Health Sciences Joelle Powers and School of Nursing Interim Divisional Dean Kelley Connor.
They expressed immense gratitude for St. Michael’s generosity.
“To be able to support our students so that they can focus on their education and not have such a financial burden when they graduate, we’re thrilled about that,” Connor said. “We have so many students who are so deserving, and this [scholarship] really goes a long way in helping that.”
Fr. Sean Wall, the Very Rev. Dean of St. Michael’s Cathedral, participated in the signing. Also in attendance was the 160th anniversary planning committee, Missy and Alan Swajkoski, Jim Hawkins and Garre Biladeau.
As part of the 160th anniversary celebration, the group will lead fundraising from St. Michael’s. Once the scholarship reaches endowment funding, Idaho nursing students will begin to receive awards.
In Ewing’s thanks to the committee, he emphasized that the scholarship will support nursing students “for as long as this university exists.”