Donor Spotlight: Joan and Dale McCleish

Joan and Dale McCleish help Mercy College of Health Sciences graduate students achieve their educational and professional goals through the newly established Joan McCleish Endowed Master’s Scholarship.

Joan knows just how important education is in any healthcare field. She is an alumnus of the Mercy School of Nursing and went on to earn her master’s and doctoral degrees. She has served as a nurse at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center and served as a nursing faculty at Mercy College since 1990, for a total of 44 years at Mercy before she retired in 2022.

“One of the reasons I was hired at Mercy College was to initiate a simulation and skills lab so students could learn the basic skills required in nursing,” said Joan. “Students practice many skills in the lab prior to caring for their patients in health care settings such as inserting IVs, physical assessments, medication administration, and monitoring vital signs.”

Joan was also instrumental in helping establish the Master of Sciences in Nursing program at Mercy College.

“I think that continuing education is important,” said Joan. “What we do as nurses includes acquiring basic knowledge and skills, as well as constantly updating our knowledge and skills. As nurses advance their education and skills, they become better at what they do. In my life as a nurse that was definitely the case.”

Joan and Dale know how important scholarships are for students wanting to continue their education. The Joan McCleish Master’s Endowed Scholarship will provide vital funds for students working towards their master’s degree at Mercy College.

Mercy College is able to award more than $300,000 in scholarships to students of merit and in financial need thanks to the generosity of numerous donors like Joan and Dale.

“Education has always been very important to Joan,” said Dale. “We created this scholarship to leave our legacy, and with Joan’s past work at Mercy College, we felt this was a good way to give back.”

“We want to give opportunities to students, through this scholarship, by providing available funds to help them continue their education.”

As Mercy College continues to grow and evolve, Joan hopes more graduate level programs can be offered.

“There is an enormous need for expert nurses at the bedside and beyond, as well as nursing educators at the master’s and doctoral levels,” said Joan.

“I hope this master’s scholarship continues to draw people to Mercy College, and that students have the opportunity for scholarship assistance to achieve their goals as they move through nursing and other health care programs.”

Joan and Dale hope others will consider contributing to the Joan McCleish Endowed Master’s Scholarship to support Mercy College students working on their graduate education.

“My whole career, I’ve contributed to scholarships for other very good causes at Mercy College, and I hope as others look at what they are able to do, they consider helping students who could use this scholarship to achieve their dreams,” said Joan.

“I hope this is the start of something we can continue to grow.”

For more information on how you can support Mercy College of Health Science students, please contact Mercy College of Health Sciences Senior Director of Institutional Advancement and Business Development Scott Seeliger at 515-643-6609 or scott.seeliger@mchs.edu or MercyOne Des Moines Foundation Senior Director of Development Joan Bindel at 515-643-8020 or jbindel@mercydesmoines.org.