 "Photo: Chi Brown/Echo photo editor")
In Jan. 2009, Chancellor Charlie Nelms told The Durham News that N.C. Central's nursing program was simply out of space.
"Something as basic as office space for our faculty members. I'm talking about basic stuff. We have it now, but not at the appropriate level," said Nelms.
Two years later, and NCCU has its own state-of-the-art nursing building facing Alston Avenue. The building will house a total of 45 faculty and staff, an amount that the Miller-Morgan Building could not accommodate.
The three-floor building houses classrooms, a student services area and a student lounge along with a snack bar on the first floor.
The second floor includes lockers, study areas, and a wing aptly titled Eagle Hospital that houses cutting edge rooms that simulate the human body and allows students to respond to medical situations. The third floor has offices and conference rooms.
"I love it. It's great. It's very nice. And most of all it's new," said second degree nursing major Dominique Nelson.
"We have new beds, people [mannequins]. It's great all around."
The Department of Nursing, established in 1948, was previously housed in the Miller-Morgan Building and now calls the nearly 70,000 square foot building its new home.
The sprawling three floor building was completed by Balfour Beatty Construction in the summer of 2011.
The department will be able to accommodate 250 students by 2012 and currently offers three degree programs, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a program for registered nurses to receive their BSN, and an accelerated 16 month BSN.
The building, constructed at a cost of $25 million, was built to help address a shortage of 9,000 nurses within the next five years, and 18,000 by 2020, according to the N.C. Center on Public Policy.
Along with Chidley North Residence Hall it is the second new building to debut on campus this year.
The reception among students has been generally positive. Although, the building is a welcome addition, new department chair Betty Dennis is focused on improving the program.
"Good facilities are great — they make your life easier," Dennis said in an NCCU press release, "but the real challenge is working with people."
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