Albertus Magnus College Receives $1 Million Gift in Support of Nursing and the Sciences
Gift Builds Excitement for College’s Upcoming Centennial Celebration
Trustee gift builds excitement for Centennial celebration and a second century of excellence. Pictured here: Front row (l-r): Interim Vice President for Advancement Kierran Broatch; Albertus Board of Trustee Luke Williams and his wife Stephanie; Albertus President Marc M. Camille, Ed.D. Back row (l-r): Victoria McDermott '28, Woobensky Onstagne '27, Ashley Roche ’25, Ciara McKallen '27, Thomas Pilla '28, and Anika Callum '27. Photo taken by Allison Hegan.
New Haven, Conn., June 9, 2025 – Albertus Magnus College is pleased to announce a gift commitment of $1 million from Albertus Board of Trustee John “Luke" Williams and his wife Stephanie. The Williams’ gift will support and further strengthen the College’s growing Nursing and STEM programs, providing essential resources for scholarships, faculty development, experiential learning opportunities, and state-of-the-art equipment.
“This first outright seven figure gift from an individual donor in support of Albertus nursing and STEM programs fills me with immense gratitude for Luke, Stephanie, and their family,” said Albertus President Marc M. Camille, Ed.D. “With the recent launch of our BSN and LPN to BSN pathway nursing programs, the demand for studying nursing and the STEM disciplines at Albertus is gaining fantastic momentum. As a member of the Board, Luke was among its many champions who supported bringing nursing to the Albertus curricular offerings, and their support will enable us to seek and deliver greater excellence within nursing and the sciences. Now just three months from the start of the Albertus 100th Anniversary Year, I am ever more excited for the bright, bold future ahead!”
Nursing and STEM momentum for Albertus also has been spurred by two grants from the State of Connecticut’s Health Horizons Program totaling nearly $1M and a $700K grant from the US Department of Education Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP), which enabled Albertus to launch its innovative STEM Academy for Growth and Equity (SAGE) summer scholars research program.
As the owner of a commercial real estate firm that transforms communities in a positive way — as well as being an expert arborist — Williams understands the importance of connecting people and places; and what better way to do that than through Albertus’ experiential and interdisciplinary approach to education, deeply rooted in Dominican values.
“There’s no better place than Albertus to be able to create impact,” said Luke and Stephanie Williams. “We believe you get the best return on investment for our greater community and for society when you give to an institution like this. Our family has always been drawn to Albertus’ mission and its values. We both have family who have benefited directly from those values and the very effective academic model employed at Albertus. It reaches into its community better than any other school in the area, and we are proud to be supporters.”
About Albertus Magnus College
Albertus Magnus College, founded in 1925, is a coeducational Catholic College in the Dominican tradition. As New England's most diverse Catholic College, Albertus' values- and liberal arts-based education is recognized by external rankings such as US News & World Report, Money Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education, and has been named a Top 10 Military Friendly School. For eight consecutive years, graduating classes at Albertus have achieved post-graduate employment and graduate school success at a rate of at least 95%. The College has an enrollment of approximately 1,300 students across its traditional undergraduate, accelerated adult undergraduate, and 12 graduate programs. Proud to enroll a student body where more than half of its students come from minority backgrounds with nearly the same percentage of undergraduates receiving Federal Pell Grants and being first generation college goers, Albertus is known for its innovative curricular offerings, recently launching new Bachelor's degree programs in Nursing, General Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary Studies, Public Health, and Supply Chain Management; among its graduate programs is the State of Connecticut's only Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling program. Just two years from its historic 100 th Anniversary Year, the College is implementing its Albertus 2025: Lighting the Way to a Second Century strategic plan, which articulates an inspiring, bold vision to "be a destination liberal arts-based college, distinguished in its interdisciplinary and experiential approach to education, rooted in Dominican values, that prepares students for lifelong civic engagement and success." To learn more, please visit albertus.edu.