{"id":61286,"date":"2020-11-12T17:06:06","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T00:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=61286"},"modified":"2020-11-12T17:06:06","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T00:06:06","slug":"vert-donation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/vert-donation\/","title":{"rendered":"Gift honoring nursing professor\u2019s late husband to benefit NAU students"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>NAU nursing associate professor <strong>Ann Leslie Vert<\/strong> remembers her late husband, Gregory, as a kind person with a passion for academic excellence. When he died in 2018, she wanted to find a meaningful way to honor his legacy and career, which focused on information technology, computer security\u00a0and\u00a0cyber intelligence.<\/p>\n<p>With the help of the NAU Foundation, Vert crafted a plan to honor her late husband\u00a0with multiple interdisciplinary gifts. The plan will support\u00a0students and faculty\u00a0dedicated to developing solutions to global challenges in a supportive, inclusive and diverse environment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDr. Vert\u2019s\u00a0generosity\u00a0reflects\u00a0NAU\u2019s commitment to\u00a0excellence and our\u00a0focus on\u00a0the\u00a0student-centered experience and qualities\u00a0that have defined NAU for more than 120 years,\u201d\u00a0said NAU President\u00a0<strong>Rita Hartung Cheng<\/strong>.\u00a0\u201cThis interdisciplinary\u00a0approach\u00a0enhances programs, supports our campus community and builds the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Through estate planning, Vert is directing her gifts to the School of Nursing and the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the months leading to my husband\u2019s untimely passing,\u00a0he\u00a0wanted to know that his life meant something,\u201d Vert said, adding that honoring his last wish by giving back to faculty and students gave her a sense of peace.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have a full heart\u00a0because I know that what we have accumulated will live on and help others, not just the faculty members who\u00a0hold\u00a0professorship positions but students who will earn their awards,\u201d\u00a0Vert said.<\/p>\n<p>Vert\u2019s philanthropic\u00a0priorities\u00a0are to\u00a0empower NAU students\u00a0and faculty\u00a0to reach their highest potential\u00a0while helping to build a better future for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must prepare our students to lead so we can achieve better outcomes for all,\u201d said Vert, a clinical researcher, educator and registered nurse who received her nursing degree from NAU. \u201cI know firsthand that NAU boldly creates student opportunities to explore, engage and excel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As a faculty member, she values the power endowed professorships have in attracting and retaining top scholars and mentors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDr. Vert\u2019s gifts reflect the many ways\u00a0donors\u00a0can\u00a0make a difference at NAU: aligning multiple interests\u00a0with interdisciplinary\u00a0impact, and pairing lifetime giving with\u00a0estate gifts,\u201d said interim NAU Foundation executive director Bonnie Baker.\u00a0\u201cDr. Vert is a philanthropic leader whose gifts will change student lives and the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vert\u2019s annual contributions and gifts are directed to new funds in the School of Nursing and the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems. They include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>ASAP Fund for Nursing<\/strong> provides\u00a0immediate resources to support the\u00a0NAU School of Nursing, prioritizing the purchase of equipment and providing resources to help equip faculty and students.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0<strong> Ann Leslie Vert Nursing Professorship\u00a0<\/strong>will\u00a0supplement the university funding of an elite faculty position in the School of Nursing.\u00a0The fund will be used to hire and retain an eminent scholar whose work in the\u00a0School of Nursing will advance the discipline and propel students to excellence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In addition, in honor of Gregory Vert&#8217;s career in information technology and cyber security, she created two funds in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Gregory Vert Cyber Security Excellence Fund <\/strong>provides scholarships to graduate students with a focus on cybersecurity.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Gregory L. Vert Endowed Professorship<\/strong>, the first professorship in the College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences will help attract and retain top scholars and mentors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To learn more about empowering generations of Lumberjacks and supporting NAU by making a gift to the NAU Foundation, visit us at <a href=\"http:\/\/foundationnau.org\">foundationnau.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"search-results-excerpt-link\" href=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/vert-donation\/\">NAU nursing associate professor Ann Leslie Vert remembers her late husband, Gregory, as a kind person with a passion for academic excellence. When he died in 2018, she wanted to find a meaningful way to honor his legacy and career, which focused on information technology, computer security\u00a0and\u00a0cyber intelligence. With the help of the NAU Foundation,&hellip;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":61294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}