Estate gift creates SJSU nursing scholarship covering full tuition for up to seven students a year
The scholarship, set up by the late Nancy McFadden, a San José State graduate and Gov. Jerry Brown's chief of staff, honors her mother, a night-shift nurse.
A gift from the estate of San José State University graduate Nancy McFadden has created a nursing scholarship that will provide more than $64,000 a year, enough to cover full tuition for up to seven students, the university announced Nov. 3.
The Mary E. McFadden Nursing Scholarship is an endowment, meaning the gift is invested and its earnings pay for awards each year. It will go to students with financial need in SJSU's Valley Foundation School of Nursing. The university did not say how large the gift was.
The scholarship honors McFadden's mother, a registered nurse who raised two children as a single mother while working night shifts at Kaiser Santa Clara, according to SJSU.
McFadden earned a political science degree from SJSU in 1984 and later served as executive secretary, or chief of staff, to Gov. Jerry Brown. She set up the scholarship during her lifetime and died of ovarian cancer in 2018. Her late brother, Bill McFadden, carried out her plans, the university said.
Nancy honored her mother's example by investing in students who will care for their communities. — Judy Nagai, SJSU vice president for University Advancement
Source: San José State University announcement, Nov. 3, 2026.