Gift establishes scholarships in memory of Noreen Stonor Drexel

A $100,000 gift from the Alletta Morris McBean Charitable Trust will establish two endowed scholarships at Salve Regina in memory of the late Noreen Stonor Drexel, an original trustee of the charitable foundation and a long-standing trustee and friend of the University.

The Noreen Stonor Drexel Scholarship in Education and the Noreen Stonor Drexel Scholarship in Nursing will support full-time undergraduates who are enrolled in both programs at Salve Regina.

“Mrs. Drexel was a longtime and beloved friend of Salve Regina University, as well as an active, insightful trustee,” said President Jane Gerety, RSM. “Establishing scholarship funds in her memory in two of the University’s core disciplines – education and nursing – honors her involvement at Salve Regina in the most meaningful of ways.”

Drexel, who died on Nov. 6, 2012, was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Salve Regina in 1999. She cared deeply about preservation and was instrumental in many of the University’s efforts to build the campus that exists today. Among the most notable projects include the restoration of Ochre Court, Wakehurst and the Save America’s Treasures designations, restoration of William Watts Sherman, the building of Rodgers Recreation Center, and the refurbishing of Tobin Hall.

Salve Regina’s historic “twin cottages” were dedicated as Stonor Hall and Drexel Hall in her honor. Drexel was also intimately involved in the building of Our Lady of Mercy Chapel.