University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies Receives Endowment Gift from The William Randolph Hearst Foundations

Coral Gables, FL. – The University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies has received a $200,000 endowment gift from The William Randolph Hearst Foundations to support scholarships for undergraduate nursing students.

The funds will be added to an existing scholarship endowment from the Hearst Foundations, creating a $400,000 endowment for the school at a time of critical nursing shortage both locally and nationwide.

“This generous gift from The William Randolph Hearst Foundations is vitally important in our efforts to combat the nursing shortage,” said Dean Nilda P. Peragallo, Dr.P.H., R.N., F.A.A.N. “The Hearst Foundations’ scholarship endowment represents an investment in quality education that will increase the number of nurses in our community and help improve access to health care in South Florida and beyond.”

One of the most diverse nursing schools in the nation, the UM School of Nursing and Health Studies has expanded its programs and increased its enrollment in recent years to help address the nursing shortage. The school, which offers Ph.D., M.S.N. and B.S.N. programs in nursing, celebrated the graduation of over 230 nurses, nurse practitioners, and nurse scientists at the University of Miami’s convocation ceremony last week.

To enhance the learning environment for nursing at UM, the school recently opened the M. Christine Schwartz Center for Nursing and Health Studies. A $20 million state-of-the-art facility, the Schwartz Center features leading-edge classrooms, seminar rooms and computer labs, and the International Academy for Clinical Simulation and Research—one of the top centers in the nation to utilize the vast potential of simulation technology to build students’ clinical skills and improve patient safety.

Founded in 1945, The William Randolph Hearst Foundations are committed to supporting programs that seek to improve and assure access to quality health care for underserved populations in both urban and rural areas.

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Established in 1948 as South Florida’s first collegiate nursing program, the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Miami has a distinguished tradition of preparing nurses to provide compassionate, quality care to local, national and international communities. Nursing students at the undergraduate and graduate levels are educated by renowned scholars and exposed to a broad range of clinical experiences and cutting-edge research. In February 2005, the School expanded its program offerings to include the University of Miami’s Health Science program and changed its name to the School of Nursing and Health Studies. The expanded curriculum includes programs leading toward the BSN, MSN, and PhD degrees as well as the BS in Health Science degree.

Media Contact:
Bárbara Gutiérrez
bgutierrez@miami.edu
305-284-5500