For Immediate Release
Contact: Kim Schmelz, Foundation Director
Phone: 608.822.2379
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: June 28, 2016
Paula vW. Dáil Midwifery Scholarship Established at Southwest Tech
Fennimore, WI -The Southwest Tech Foundation is pleased to announce the establishment of the Paula vW. Dáil Midwifery Scholarship. Paula vW. Dáil, Emerita Research Professor of Social Welfare and Public Policy, served as a member of the Southwest Tech Board of Directors for five years (1999-2004) and wanted to support students who will make a career of caring for the poor and underserved populations.
This scholarship recognizes the commitment to nursing Violet Wende Dáil expressed throughout her life. Violet, Paula’s mother, died in 2016 at the age of 105. Violet received her RN degree from Providence Hospital School of Nursing (University of Washington) in Seattle, WA, where she did her clinical training at the Seattle Poor House, under the instruction of the Nursing Sisters of Charity of Providence. In 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Violet answered a call for volunteer civilian nurses to staff the U.S. Naval Hospital in San Diego, CA because the Navy nurses were shipping out to the South Pacific field hospitals. She continued caring for war casualties until 1945, when WWII finally ended. For the remainder of her career she worked in various hospital settings, generally focusing on indigent health care and women’s health concerns. She retired from nursing at age 75, but maintained her nursing license until her death.
Paula vW. Dáil received an undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado-Boulder and earned both MS and PhD degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Dáil’s post-graduate academic career was spent primarily at Virginia Tech, where she achieved early tenure and became founding director of the Center for the Study of Poverty. Later, while at Iowa State University as a research professor, she directed the Child Welfare Research Project. The focus of her research career has been on poverty, particularly among women, and during her years as a professor she became widely published in the social sciences.
After leaving academia Dáil continued to do research on poverty in the Midwest and women living in poverty, authoring books on both topics. She’s also written fiction and self-help books.
“We appreciate the gift of Dr. Dáil in memory of her mother. Their passion for caring for the poor and less fortunate means a great deal and will allow for many students to be impacted while obtaining their degree,” said Kim Schmelz, Director of External Relations and Alumni Development.
The Southwest Tech Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting learning through funding and activities that enables Southwest Tech to provide opportunities for success. The Southwest Tech Foundation welcomes contributions year round to help financially support students, programs and staff at the College. All contributions are tax-deductible. For more information on how you can make a memorial or honorary gift please contact Kim Schmelz at 608-822-2379 or visit www.swtc.edu and click on the Foundation tab.