University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: $6.8M gift to the UNC School of Nursing funds simulation center, scholarships to educate nurses
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Nursing received $6.8 million to fund a world-class nursing simulation center and scholarships for second-career nursing students. The donation from the Helene Fuld Health Trust, the nation’s largest charitable trust devoted exclusively to supporting nursing students and nursing education, is the largest private donation in the history of the UNC School of Nursing.
This gift contributes to a larger project to renew Carrington Hall, the home to the UNC School of Nursing since 1969. The renewal project received $45 million in appropriations from the North Carolina General Assembly in July 2020 and is scheduled to break ground in January 2023.
The $6.3 million Helene Fuld Health Trust Quality and Safety Education Center will be a centerpiece of the new Carrington Hall, providing a state-of-the-art simulated clinical environment for nursing students and for interprofessional health education at Carolina.
“We are incredibly grateful to the Fuld Trust for this significant investment in our nursing students and faculty,” said UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz. “This center will transform the educational experience for future Carolina nurses and provide lasting advancements in nursing education and in the health of North Carolina’s citizens and communities. We are proud to have the number one ranked public school of nursing in the United States.”
The gift also provides $500,000 in scholarships for students enrolled in the school’s accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program. The ABSN is a rigorous and fast-paced second-degree program for students who already have a bachelor’s degree in another subject and would like to obtain their nursing degree in just four semesters.
“Carolina Nursing is home to some of the best clinical simulation faculty in the world, and this new Center will give them the optimal platform from which to advance the pedagogy in this increasingly important aspect of nursing education,” said Nilda Peragallo Montano, dean and professor at the UNC School of Nursing.
The primary mission of the Helene Fuld Health Trust is to support and promote the health, welfare and education of nursing students.
This gift counts toward the Campaign for Carolina, the University’s most ambitious fundraising campaign in history, launched in October 2017 with a goal to raise $4.25 billion by December 2022.