Friend of the College of Nursing Award

NORMAN H. VOLK, GRAD '59
New York

Norman doesn’t plan to retire until he’s 85. He continues to enjoy his strong relationship with Marquette decades after receiving his master of arts degree and is working on pressing geriatric issues facing the country as chairman of the John A. Hartford Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

“The diversity of my work keeps me active and engaged,” he says.

And active he is. Norman is chairman of the John A. Hartford Foundation's Board of Trustees, on which he has served since 1979. He became board chair in 2002. The foundation, a private philanthropy, is actively working to improve the health of older Americans by advancing practice change and innovation; supporting team-based care through interdisciplinary education of all health care providers; supporting policies and regulations that promote better care; and developing and disseminating new evidence-based models that deliver better, more cost-effective health care.

Since 1929, the Hartford Foundation, which has, over time, had 104 partners, including other foundations and the Institute on Aging, has issued more than $788 million in grants. During the past 14 years, these partnerships have amplified the foundation’s $398 million investment in older adult health to nearly $2 billion in funding for other geriatric projects, a 500 percent return on investment.

Norman also served on Valparaiso University’s Board of Directors for 10 years and is still a member of Valparaiso’s College of Nursing Advisory Council, as well as New York University’s College of Nursing Advisory Board. He received the 2012 Award for Advancing Nursing Leadership from the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare, a philanthropy dedicated to advancing the nursing profession in the United States. Norman has also been inducted as an honorary member of Sigma Theta Tau, the honor society of nursing. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Stanford University Center on Longevity.

Norman is president and founder of Chamberlain & Steward, a New York asset advisory firm. Previously, he was senior vice president at the Bessemer Trust Corp. and held several positions on Wall Street from 1962–72.

Says Norman: “Success is contributing to the well-being of others.”

Fun Facts

Hometown: New York

Dream dinner guest: “Ronald Reagan.”

Favorite quote: “I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep. — Robert Frost”

Marquette faculty or staff member who had an impact: “Rev. John J. Walsh, S.J., and Dean Margaret Callahan.”

Grade school career aspiration: “A farmer. I didn’t know any better.”

Favorite Marquette memory: “Being in the Three-Penny Opera at the theatre.”