Connie and Andras Vari Create Nursing Scholarship

Upon receiving a scholarship established by UB nursing alumnus Connie Vari, DNP, RN, FNP, MBA and her husband, Andras J. Vari, MD, nursing student Kelly McLean (pictured) made an important vow to the couple.

“I feel truly blessed to be a recipient,” said McLean. “The Varis are wonderful people and to know they believe I embody the characteristics required to earn this honor is most inspiring. I will not let them down.”

Connie Vari spent more than three decades of her career at Kaleida Health, starting as a staff nurse and finishing as chief operating officer and executive vice president. Now retired, she credits her education and several mentors along the way with encouraging her to lead.

“I always believed that nurses assume a leadership role when they advocate for their patients and families,” she said. “My basic nursing education taught me to ‘do things right’ but my mentors and education taught me to ‘do the right thing.’”

The Varis created the scholarship fund to provide awards to UB undergraduate nursing students who plan to pursue leadership roles in the field. McLean and Stephanie Clark, who are pursuing bachelor of science degrees in nursing, are the first recipients of the scholarship. Clark, who works as a critical care nurse at an area hospital, is grateful for the scholarship, which will help her pay tuition, and hopes to eventually earn an advanced practice degree.

“I like everything that I am learning,” Clark said. “It is helping me to grow and improve in my personal practice.” Connie Vari is a three-time graduate of UB, with bachelor and master of science degrees in nursing, and a master of business administration. She received UB Nursing’s first Patricia H. Garman Award for Excellence and Service in Nursing this year, and also has received distinguished alumni awards from the school and UB. Andras J. Vari, MD, graduated from Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary. During his 37-year career in Buffalo, he served as vice president and chief medical officer of Kaleida Health, Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital, and as a physician and partner at Buffalo Cardiology and Pulmonary Associates until he retired in 2012. Dr. Andras Vari is extremely proud of his wife Connie and wanted this scholarship named in her honor for her extraordinary dedication to the nursing profession.