Dedication ceremony marks largest commitment in college’s history
WOBURN, MA – Crowds gathered yesterday at Endicott College to celebrate the dedication of Cummings School of Nursing & Health Sciences. This new Cummings School intends to help stem widespread nursing shortages and establish the Beverly college as a destination for health care education.
Wednesday’s dedication ceremony follows a $20 million gift made by Cummings Foundation, of Woburn, in 2021. This commitment, the largest in Endicott’s history, supported the construction of the Cummings School, a next-generation academic center for future health care professionals.
“Our warmest congratulations to all responsible for imagining, designing, and constructing this marvelous new home,” said Cummings Foundation co-founder Bill Cummings, of Winchester. “Endicott is rapidly accelerating—many call it a great march forward…. To all of you undergraduate and graduate healthcare professionals, go forth from Endicott into a lifetime of wonderful service. Take with you the goodwill and blessings of everyone here today.”
Cummings also commended Endicott’s present and past leadership. Paying particular regard to Dr. Richard Wylie, he remembered the late president’s tangible love for the College “and how contagious his love was to all around him.”
Wylie was among the first city residents to welcome the Cummings organization to Beverly nearly 30 years ago. Cummings Properties first entered Beverly following its acquisition of the former United Shoe Manufacturing Corporation, which has since been transformed into the 2 million-square-foot Cummings Center business and innovation campus.
“As home to our Cummings Center and Dunham Ridge business and technology campuses, Beverly has long been an important community to the Cummings organization,” said Cummings. “With the highest appreciation for the College’s innovative learning programs, Cummings Foundation is so delighted to partner with Endicott to help fulfill the vital need for nursing and health sciences professionals.”
The grand opening of Cummings School of Nursing & Health Sciences officially inducts Endicott College into the cohort of Cummings affiliated colleges and programs. These fine institutions, although unaffiliated with each other, have all been awarded at least $10 million from Cummings Foundation to support their provision of high-quality career readiness programming.
Endicott’s close neighbor, Salem State University, became a Cummings affiliated college in 2022. The Jamie McKeown School of Education, rededicated to recognize the largest gift in that school’s history, now honors a 1977 alumnus. McKeown, a former marathon runner as well as late Cummings Properties president and Cummings Foundation managing trustee, died suddenly of a heart attack in 1996.
President Steven DiSalvo, of Endicott College, and President John Keenan, of Salem State University, are among eight current and former college presidents who serve on Cummings Foundation’s board of trustees.
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings, of Winchester. The Foundation’s philanthropic focus is primarily on giving back in the areas where it owns commercial properties. More information is available at CummingsFoundation.org.
Additional details about Cummings School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Endicott College can be found atendicott.edu/academics/schools/nursing and via The Salem News.
More information about the Salem State University McKeown School of Education can be found at salemstate.edu/school-education and via The Boston Globe.
