Kevin Lenahan ’90 Supports Two Things He Values Most with Scholarship

“Having done it firsthand, I know how difficult it is to work and go to school fulltime,” says William Paterson Board of Trustees member Kevin Lenahan, who graduated from William Paterson in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

To help students facing a similar financial challenge, he and his wife Dawn gave the University a generous leadership donation to establish the Lenahan Family scholarship. The endowed scholarship will help support students majoring in accounting or nursing—two fields that are especially meaningful to him.

Lenahan is senior vice president, chief financial officer and chief administrative officer of Atlantic Health System. He joined the Board of Trustees of William Paterson University in 2016, and serves as chair of the finance committee.

“I believe that it’s important to give back when you can,” he says, explaining that his education at William Paterson gave him a great foundation. Nursing is also equally important to Lenahan, having spent the majority of his career in health care.

“I have a passion about the quality of care we provide for our patients here at Atlantic Health System. Morristown Medical Center, won a prestigious Magnet award for the fifth consecutive time. Nursing is very important. It’s what keeps hospitals and physicians’ offices going—nurses are the linchpin of health care,” he adds.

Lenahan began at Atlantic Health System in 1995 at the system’s Morristown campus and has served the organization in numerous capacities over the past 20 years, becoming chief financial officer in 2010. He also holds the positions of president and chair of Atlantic Health Management Corporation, president of Atlantic Insurance Company, Ltd., and president of Atlantic Ambulance, as well as treasurer of the Atlantic Health System Board of Trustees.

Lenahan was named “CFO of the Year” by NJBIZ within the large, not-for-profit category, and in 2018 was honored as the winner of the CFO Excellence Award, from CFO Studies. He was named by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of its “150 hospital and health system CFOs to know,” in 2017 and 2018.

“It’s been fascinating to learn about the University by serving on the Board of Trustees, and being part of the community,” he says. “The people on the Board are great, and everyone has the best interests at heart for the University.”

Lenahan was also one of the business leaders who spoke at the Cotsakos College of Business’s Crux of Industry Niche boot camp last summer, and is currently serving as a mentor to his second student through the University’s Pesce Family Mentoring Institute.

“I was also first in my family to attend college,” he adds, recognizing that he shares the profile of many University students.  “I think anything we can do to help William Paterson students succeed is important. It’s all about giving back and sharing the knowledge, and I’ve enjoyed doing it.”

 

 

02/18/19