- October 2, 2012
- 10:34 am
- Ashton Mitchell
New nursing building dedicated
Father Garanzini (left) assists Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing Dean Vicki Keough with the ribbon-cutting for the SON's new building.
This past Saturday, September 29, Loyola celebrated the opening of its brand new Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing (SON) building with a dedication ceremony at the Health Sciences Campus in Maywood. The 58,222-square-foot state-of-the art space is the new home to graduate nursing students and accelerated baccalaureate students and is connected to the Stritch School of Medicine Cuneo Center.
Father Garanzini, Health Sciences Division Provost Richard Gamelli, and SON Dean Vicki Keough, PhD, RN-BC, ACNP, all attended the celebration and welcomed more than 350 students, faculty, and staff to the newest space on campus for interprofessional education and research.
Before welcoming Father Garanzini to the podium, Dean Keough expressed her thanks for all those who made the new building a possibility, in particular the joint committee that worked for more than three years strategically planning the innovative project. She also thanked the nursing faculty for their dedication to transformative education.
Following the blessing and dedication, attendees were given the opportunity to tour the new facility, which houses a 165-seat lecture hall, classrooms, group study rooms, conference rooms, faculty offices, a light-filled atrium, and a café. The space also features the Galante Information Commons, an integrated learning environment with an electronic health sciences library.
The new nursing building was not the only grand opening for the Health Science Divisions this fall. September also marked the opening of the Advanced Procedures Education Center, which includes the Walgreen Family Virtual Hospital and other integrated facilities on the Health Sciences Campus. Joe Pixler, director of communication for the Health Sciences Division, says the education center is unique because all the facilities are now in the same location. Pixler believes the integration offers an exceptional, collaborative training experience that will help students prepare for their work in the health care field.
In other news at the Health Sciences Campus, the Stritch School of Medicine’s 62nd Annual Award Dinner will take place on November 17 at The Field Museum. At the dinner, Ramsey Lewis will receive the Sword of Loyola, which is given to an individual who exhibits exceptional dedication and humanitarian service in fields other than medicine. Lewis is a Grammy Award winning jazz composer, pianist, and radio personality based in the Chicago area. The award is another example of the school’s commitment to multidisciplinary education.
For more on the new SON building, check out the SON’s website.
