photo by: University of Kansas

The KU Medical Center campus is shown.

A philanthropic organization that has long given scholarships to east coast nursing schools has added the University of Kansas to its giving plans.

The Bedford Falls Foundation-DAF has given $1.6 million to KU, with most of the money earmarked for scholarships for nursing students. The Washington, D.C.-based foundation has directed that $1.5 million be distributed to nursing students, while $100,000 can be set aside to help students with emergencies that arise.

KU expects that about 175 nursing students at KU will receive $5,000 annual scholarships during the next four years.

The Bedford Falls Foundation and its associated investment fund was founded by Bill Conway Jr., who made a fortune as the leader of the global investment firm the Carlyle Group. In 2012, Conway and his wife Joanne Barkett Conway announced that the foundation intended to provide $1 billion in philanthropic gifts to nursing education. The project initially focused on giving to nursing schools in the Washington, D.C. area, but has since expanded.

“Our nation has a critical need for nurses and yet financial barriers prevent many prospective students from pursuing a nursing education,” Conway said in a press release from KU. “I am fortunate to be able to help address that. We are excited to support 175 KU nursing students graduate with less debt so they can focus on becoming the great nurses they are meant to become.”

KU leaders said the gift will make a major difference in the financial future of many students at the school. KU’s nursing school, with campuses in Kansas City, Kan. and Salina, is ranked among the top 20 public nursing schools in the country by U.S. News & World Report, and has 390 students during the current school year. KU said the average nursing student in its program leaves school with about $28,000 in student loan debt.