Fran Hackett Nursing Scholarship

Like many people, Fran Hackett faced health challenges. Ms. Hackett recognized that the supportive care of nurses affected her well being and her outlook on life. This innate humanism in her nurses’ care prompted Ms. Hackett to create an endowed scholarship for nursing students at Ramapo College. The scholarship honors Ms. Hackett’s experience with compassionate, kind nurses by recognizing Ramapo College nursing students who demonstrate humanistic care. The “Theory of Humanistic Nursing” was first proposed in 1971 by a team of nurses who believed that nursing education should focus as much on the nurse’s ability to relate to patients as on her scientific background.

During her career, Fran remained active with her alma mater, both as a volunteer and as a donor. She served on the Strategic Planning Executive Committee, the School of Business Advisory Board, and the Board of Governors. Frances Hackett began her education at Ramapo College in 1973 as a full-time student and left the following year to join Prudential Financial. She returned in 1976 and continued part-time, graduating from Ramapo in 1980 with a degree in Business Administration and American Studies.

Before her death in June 2015, Fran served as vice president of Administration and OSGLI at Prudential. Her responsibilities included the management of Prudential’s largest group client and the pre-sale process for group insurance products and related regulatory matters. During her tenure at Prudential, Fran held a wide range of positions in operations, account management, human resources, compliance and project management.

In addition to her work with Prudential, Fran served on the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Efficiency II, the Policy Advisory Committee of Administrative Office of the Courts, the Advisory Group for the School of Healthcare Related Professionals at UMDNJ and the state Health Insurance Advisory Association.