(Posted 12-13-99)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News Service Contact: Steve Gilliam, 336-334-5371

BEQUEST OF $666,000 TO CREATE NURSING PROFESSORSHIP

GREENSBORO--A $666,000 bequest from the estate of Joseph J. Mastroianni of Charlotte  will be used to establish the Daphine Doster Mastroianni Distinguished Professorship in Nursing at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Joseph Mastroianni, who died June 24, 1999, made the bequest in honor of his wife, Daphine Doster Mastroianni, a 1927 graduate of the North Carolina College for Women (now UNCG), who lives in Charlotte. The gift was made on Dec. 8 at a luncheon held in honor of Mrs. Mastroianni  at the home of Chancellor Patricia A. Sullivan.

"I was very pleased to know that this gift had been given to the School of Nursing at UNCG," said Mrs. Mastroianni. "I am completely overwhelmed by this honor."
 The bequest is the largest single gift to the UNCG School of Nursing. The funds for the Distinguished Professorship will support an outstanding nursing scholar.

"This bequest not only honors a devoted and distinguished alumna of the University, Daphine Doster Mastroianni, but it also creates a professorship that will have a great impact on our School of Nursing," said Sullivan. "This professorship will allow the school to add new teaching and research expertise to that of an already dedicated and top-notch nursing faculty there. We are indeed grateful for such wonderful support, and for the opportunity to carry Daphine's work in nursing education into the future."

Dr. Lynne G. Pearcey, dean of the School of Nursing, said: "The School of Nursing is fortunate to have received this gift from the estate of Joseph Mastroianni to establish the distinguished professorship. I am glad that I had an opportunity to meet Mr. Mastroianni in their home. It was apparent how much he loved and cared for Daphine. The professorship will be designated for excellence in nursing education and will enhance the School of Nursing. The support will significantly assist the school in establishing the proposed doctoral program."

Mr. Mastroianni was born in New York City on July 22, 1908. He was a graduate of Columbia University, where he also received a master's degree in hospital administration. During World War II, he was an area director for the American Red Cross, serving the armed forces in the South Pacific from 1942-45. Mastroianni served as regional director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in New York City until his retirement in 1978. Prior to moving to Charlotte in 1991, he lived in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., where he was a member of the Town Recreation Committee, a board member of the Association of Senior Citizens. He was a past president of the Washington, D.C., chapter  National Association of Federal Employees.

A native of Gibson, Mrs. Mastroianni graduated with a degree in music from UNCG. She went on to teach music for six years before returning to Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing to earn a nursing degree. She later earned her master's degree in public health from the University of Minnesota. During World War II, she served as a member of the Army Nurse Corp, serving as a surgical nurse and operating room supervisor in New Zealand, the Fiji Islands, India and Ft. Devens, Mass. It was during her stint in the Army that she met Joseph Mastroianni, who was serving with the American Red Cross. The two  went their separate ways, meeting again 45  years later. They married  in 1992. She was 86, and he was 83.

Among her accomplishments, Mrs. Mastroianni served as the public health nursing educational director in Arkansas. She was instrumental in establishing the School of Nursing at the University of Arkansas. She took a leave of absence from the U.S. Public Health Service in 1952 to serve as acting dean of the school during its first year and helped establish the four-year baccalaureate degree program in nursing there. In May, she received the honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Nursing.

She has been generous to UNCG. She has donated two pianos to the UNCG School of Music and has named two seats in the School of Music Recital Hall. She has given an endowed scholarship for nursing students, an endowed fund for faculty development and an endowed archival fund for nursing history.

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