Duquesne University has opened a new nursing simulation center thanks to a $4 million gift from a financier and philanthropist.

The Joanne Barkett Conway Simulation Center is an 8,600-square-foot training facility located at Duquesne’s Fisher Hall and housed in the School of Nursing.

University officials say the lab was made possible by a $4 million gift from William E. Conway Jr. and his late wife, Joanne. She died in January 2024.

“The Joanne Barkett Conway Simulation Center greatly augments the holistic nursing education infused with cutting-edge technology that our School of Nursing is well known for,” said Duquesne President Ken Gormley. “It provides an incredible benefit to our faculty who train our students and to the patients our graduates will one day serve.”

The simulation center includes a fully equipped operating room suite used by critical care nurses who are graduate students in Duquesne’s doctorate program in nurse anesthesia.

The simulator also has high-fidelity mannequins and video and audio systems that allow faculty to re-create real scenarios and provide instant feedback.

The gift is among the Conways’ many contributions to education and other philanthropic causes through their Bedford Falls Foundation, named for the fictional town in “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

At Duquesne, a previous $2.5 million gift from the Conways established scholarships for students enrolled in the School of Nursing’s 12- and 16- month second-degree bachelor of science in nursing programs. The investment helped more than 125 graduates enter the profession to date, according to Duquesne.

Conway, whose net worth is calculated by Forbes at $4.1 billion, is co-founder of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest investment firms.

He said his late wife was behind the ongoing support for Duquesne’s nursing school. “She thought supporting Duquesne would be a good idea, so we did a tour of the school and learned about it and we agreed it was a good fit,” he said.

Conway, who lives in Virginia, and his late wife have given widely to schools of nursing around the country and to those at Catholic institutions in particular, such as Villanova, Georgetown and Catholic University of America.

“I once had a nursing student say to me, ‘Mr. Conway, nursing is the most respected profession in America as it should be.’ The nurses that we turn out from Duquesne, particularly, and other nursing schools are prepared to take care of people. The simulation lab here, I think, will be a big part of making them even better nurses,” Conway said.

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