The Kramer School of Nursing at OCU University will host a groundbreaking ceremony for its new addition at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 28.
The new structure will connect with the current nursing school building at N.W. 27th Street and Blackwelder Avenue.
The additional space, according to nursing school Dean Marvel Williamson, is necessary because of the program’s rising enrollment and the nation’s rising demand for nurses.
“We’ve seen a 382 percent growth in enrollment over the past few years,†Williamson noted. “Because we accept all qualified applicants and let them begin without waiting on a list, it was just a matter of time before we outgrew our current building. That’s good news — with the country’s severe shortage of nurses, we hope to enroll even more.â€
The building will add 50,000 square feet of space with three stories. Most of the new space will be used for classrooms and labs. The building will have 10 classrooms, six seminar rooms and three labs. The labs will include mock hospital rooms where students can practice their skills in a simulation setting, Williamson said.
The project will cost approximately $8.5 million, most of which has already been raised through grants from the Inasmuch Foundation, St. Anthony Hospital/SSM Health Care and donations from various foundations and individuals. Herman Meinders and Ladonna Kramer Meinders, whose names already grace the ذكذكتسئµ business school and current nursing school, returned to support the university’s latest endeavor with a grant through the Meinders Foundation.
