Honoring a Lifelong Commitment to Education

For decades, the University of Southern Maine School of Nursing has been recognized as a leader in the education of healthcare professionals. In an ever-changing and complex landscape, the nursing program responds to the needs of the citizens of Maine as well as the global community.

In 2022, John Goldsworth established the Goldsworth/Philbrick Endowed Scholarship in Nursing. With an initial gift to endow the scholarship, John also committed to an annual contribution for spending throughout the rest of his life. Additionally, John formalized a bequest intention to increase the invested value of the scholarship fund in perpetuity.

The Goldsworth/Philbrick Endowed Scholarship in Nursing represents Jane and John Goldsworth and their families. The Goldsworth family has always had a commitment to higher education and preparing for the future. The Philbrick family, many of whom are educators themselves, value education at every level and strive to support people in meeting their life goals and dreams.

Jane grew up in Gorham, Maine, in her family home which was just a stone’s throw from the USM campus. She chose to attend Marquette University because they were able to provide the financial assistance she needed to attend college. Jane earned her BSN from Marquette and later in her career, earned her MSN at the University of Pennsylvania.

In her over 40 years of nursing, Jane spent 35 years practicing Emergency Nursing. Starting as a staff nurse, then an educator, and finally as the nurse manager of a Level I Trauma Center. Jane believed strongly in continuing education for nurses.

Jane was aware of the strength of USM’s Nursing program and wanted to make a difference for Maine students. Together, Jane and John wanted to provide financial assistance to nursing students at USM, just as Jane had received from Marquette.

The Goldsworth/Philbrick Scholarship supports undergraduate nursing students from Maine with an interest in practicing in Maine. It supports students who are in their 3rd or 4th year of the nursing program with demonstrated financial need, academic success, and strength in the sciences.

The impact of both a legacy gift and an annual gift combined cannot be overstated, and nursing students at USM will benefit from this scholarship for many years to come.

“Leading by example and serving as a mentor were hallmarks of Jane’s career. Being a mentor and working with new emergency staff nurses was very important to Jane. We wanted to give financial assistance to nursing students at the University of Southern Maine, just as Marquette provided for Jane.”
—John Goldsworth