Couple Gives $1M for Tulane School of Social Work Scholarship - Biz New Orleans

Cheryl A. Verlander and her husband, Charles 'Chuck' N. Bracht, have made a $1 million bequest to Tulane's Verlander-Bracht Scholarship Endowed Fund.

NEW ORLEANS — From Tulane University:

A Tulane alumna has made a $1 million bequest to the School of Social Work. 

The estate gift from social worker Cheryl A. Verlander and her husband, Charles "Chuck" N. Bracht, will bolster the Verlander-Bracht Scholarship Endowed Fund, which they created in 2008 to support students, especially Tulane alumni, who are pursuing master's degrees at the School of Social Work.

A New Orleans native and longtime Houston resident, Verlander practices at the Hauser Clinic. She has forged an extensive career in the public, private, nonprofit and for-profit health and mental health sectors. She also has been a field instructor for graduate students in social work, counseling and marriage and family therapy. She is a Board Certified Diplomate of the American Board of Clinical Social Work and a member of both the Academy of Certified Social Workers and the Tulane Social Work Dean's Advisory Council.

"The Tulane School of Social Work provided me with the education and clinical experience that facilitated my long and rewarding career. I was fortunate to be able to accomplish all of my goals, and more, in my professional life," Verlander said.

"I really would like the scholarship to educate mental health professionals. Social workers do the lion's share of mental health work, and I want to help further educate people to fill that need. A major psychiatric illness ran in and touched all my family, so I wanted to make a difference by helping others facing the same struggles," she said. "I hope that I have made a difference with patients, families and systems during my professional life, and this gift is to help subsequent generations continue." 

Tulane President Michael A. Fitts noted that the gift arrives as the demand for social workers is increasing.

"With the difficulties brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, as well as other stressors such as economic uncertainty and the continued mental health crisis in our country, the need for social workers is urgent and growing," Fitts said. "We are so grateful for the longtime support Cheryl and Chuck have provided to Tulane and for this latest gift that will educate a new generation of social workers to help heal a hurting world."