Florida International University (FIU) announced a generous gift from Jorge M. Pérez and Darlene Marie Boytell-Pérez ’89, MS ’96 to establish a new endowment at FIU’s Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences (NWCNHS). The Jorge M. Pérez and Darlene Boytell-Pérez 50th Anniversary of Nursing Scholarship Endowment will serve to redress the shortage of nursing professionals throughout Florida by establishing a permanent source of funding to help nursing students pay for tuition and related educational expenses.

“Students from FIU’s Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences represent the next generation of nurses, set to sustain our healthcare system for years to come. It’s an incredible honor for us to support their journeys through this endowment,” says Boytell-Pérez, a two-time Florida International University nursing alumna. “A thriving healthcare system holds immense importance in fostering a stronger, more resilient South Florida. My family and I look forward to the positive impacts these individuals will create as they progress at FIU and become integral parts of our community.”

The $250,000 endowment will provide scholarships of up to four years for full-time nursing students who demonstrate outstanding scholastic aptitude and accomplishments and financial need, especially those expressing a desire to stay in the South Florida community after graduation.

The support of Jorge M. Pérez, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Related Group, and his wife, Darlene Boytell-Pérez, have has been integral to FIU’s growth in multiple areas. FIU established the Darlene & Jorge Pérez Collection—100 Years of Cuban Art, after a donation of Cuban art from the Pérezes to the university’s Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum and the Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs. Notably, their support led to the establishment of the university’s Jorge M. Pérez Metropolitan Center, an applied research institute that provides policy solutions to public, private and non-profit organizations in South Florida. They have also established the Jorge and Darlene Pérez Scholars Endowment in the university’s Honors College.