Posted: Thursday, October 15, 2015

University of Evansville alumna and member of the board of trustees Rose Mays will be inducted into the Indiana Academy at its 45th annual symposium on Monday, October 19, in Indianapolis. She is one of four honorees who will be recognized at that time by the Independent Colleges of Indiana for lifetimes of achievement and contribution to the state of Indiana. 

Mays, an Indiana University School of Nursing professor emeritus, recently retired from IU after a 36-year career. During her time there, she worked to improve life for vulnerable adolescents by carrying out a research and professional service program focused on health promotion and disease prevention.

Mays is active in various education, health and social service organizations, including her alma mater, the University of Evansville.

Some of the many contributions that she, in partnership with her late husband William G. Mays, has made to UE include:

• A contributing founder of the Zerah Priestly Carter Endowed Scholarship (named after the first African American to graduate from UE in 1938).

• Dr. Rose M. Mays Endowed Scholarship, awarded to an African American student with financial need and academic merit with a 3.0 GPA, annually.

• Rose and William Mays Endowed Professional Development Fund for Nursing, used to meet the need for professional development seminars at UE, professional development and conferences related to nursing at other sites, and tuition assistance for doctoral coursework

• William G. and Rose M. Mays Martin Luther King Jr. Lectureship that annually funds the keynote speaker during UE’s annual MLK Jr. Day celebration.

• Mays Challenge, which generated enough donations to reach the goal of taking the ZPC Scholarship to $100,000, by matching any gift made to the Zerah Priestly Carter Endowed Scholarship in time for the UEAAA Reunion 2015.

Besides serving on UE’s Board of Trustees, Mays is a founding and current member and past president of the University of Evansville African American Alumni Association (UEAAA) She also served as chair of UE’s Annual Fund Campaign (1995-1996)

In recognition of her generosity and dedication to the school, Mays has received several awards over the years from UE. They include the Distinguished UEAAA Award in 2015, from the UEAAA Executive Board, The Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2010, from the University of Evansville Alumni Association, and the University’s Medal of Honor Award in 2004.

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