By BRYNNA WILLIAMSON/ Managing Editor
For more than four years, UT Tyler faculty, staff, and students have eagerly awaited the day when the David G. and Jacqueline M. Braithwaite Building would have more room.
And finally, as of April 6, 2023, it will.
UT Tyler President Dr. Kirk Calhoun, UT System Regents’ Chair Kevin Eltife, Executive Vice President of Health Affairs Julie Philley, and School of Nursing Dean Dr. Barbara Haas broke ground on the addition to the School of Nursing yesterday. According to a press release published by UT Tyler, the building will cost $35 million and will be an additional 47,000 square feet.
“If anyone could tour our current building, they would say that our students are sitting on the floor, they’re crowded into spaces,” said Haas. “So this new building is very student-centered. Every decision we’ve made, we’ve put the students at the forefront of our decision. So our mission statement says that we are caring and learner-centered, and this building reflects that because we’re putting all of our efforts into learning spaces, study spaces, commons [and] student commons.”
The new building will be state-of-the-art, according to Calhoun. The first floor will be dedicated to simulation and skill labs. A vital resource for nurses to practice on, this addition will more than triple the School of Nursing’s current simulation capacity.
Among other “cutting-edge technology” planned for the space are pods for acute surgical care and various pediatrics/mother-baby care, AI and virtual-space procedural practice, and additional simulation labs.
Calhoun says that the “upgrade” to the School of Nursing building will also allow the University to take in many more nursing students.
“The College of Nursing is the largest college on the UT Tyler campus. It’s about 2,000 students out of the 10,000 UT Tyler students, maybe even a little bit more than that. If we can raise that number, 20, 30%, that will have a real impact on our hospitals who are, I can tell you, really struggling to find nurses. … And so we want to do our job, and that is produce the young people to step up and take these roles on into the future,” he said.
The building is planned to be finished by 2025 and will be located on campus between the Center for Performing Arts and the Braithwaite Building.
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