School of Nursing

Support this Program

Make a gift online in support of the School of Nursing.

Current Priorities for the School of Nursing

America faces a nursing shortage that is approaching crisis proportions, making our need for nurses immediate and profound. And, increased technology and specialization demand more highly prepared nurses. Nurses have become a precious national resource.

That's why, to shape the future we want, we need to do something now.

The top-ranked University of Washington School of Nursing is prepared to address the most pressing nursing challenges affecting our communities. Our obstacle? In an era of challenging state budget cuts, we need the resources to better respond to students' needs and prepare the next generation of nurses for the complexities of practice, education and research today and tomorrow.

To enable the brightest nursing students to build their careers, find and retain outstanding educators, and support world-class nurse researchers and their programs, we need your help. The beneficiaries of this vision will be our families, our friends, the community, the nation, and the world. Together, we are creating futures. The impact will be greater than perhaps any of us can imagine, profoundly touching thousands of lives.

Student Support

The UW School of Nursing's reputation attracts the country's top students but competition for the finest students is fierce. Additional scholarships and fellowships will support our bright and passionate students so they don't have to work, allowing them to focus full time on gaining an education, speeding their entry into the workplace. When you invest in a student, you invest in the future.

Faculty Support

The School of Nursing's extraordinary faculty drive the process of teaching, discovery and research that are at the heart of an exceptional education. Strategic recruitment-and retention-of world-class faculty will allow us to grow our renowned programs and build partnerships that improve care in our community. Moving forward we will attract and retain faculty who:

• Keep the teaching and research vibrant and reflective of our students' diversity?
• Provide leadership in evolving educational programs and opportunities
• Seek out new challenges and think creatively about important health care problems
• Collaborate with colleagues in various disciplines to find successful, innovative approaches to care
• Expand the programs that prepare future nurse educators

To achieve these goals, we must provide competitive salaries; endowed chairs and professorships for leadership positions; and support for groundbreaking research and education programs.

Program and Research Support

Research leads to healthier, fuller lives. But innovative research is expensive. Being a top recipient of nursing research funds from the National Institutes of Health helps, but we have far more ideas than dollars to fund them. Philanthropic support is essential to continuing the research that has already helped so many individuals, and to tap the potential to benefit thousands more.

Annual Support

With your continued support of the school's priorities, we can continue to honor our commitment to our students by providing an excellent educational experience, our faculty by maintaining a collegial and nurturing environment, and our community as a leader in nursing research, education and practice. We are focused on the following priorities as part of our fundamental commitment to our students' educational experience:

• Global Health: As the nation's No. 1 school of nursing, we are uniquely positioned to tackle society's biggest challenges in nursing research, education, and practice. One of the biggest challenges is the increasing need for expert care in the face of a diminishing global heath workforce. Leadership, research, education, policy, and service define the school's mission, and as we explore new partnerships with regional, national and international organizations, we will do even more to address global health challenges.
• Student support: Unmet student scholarship need for School of Nursing students topped $1.6 million this year. Ninety percent of our students work and have families to support. In light of the looming nursing shortage, we must provide our students with the financial support they need to complete their education and become the nurses our society demands.
• Faculty support: A recent report by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing predicts that for every 10 nursing faculty who retire, only three new teachers will be available to replace them. We need to retain and nurture the junior faculty members who will teach those students. Faculty fellowships help recruit and retain the most promising junior faculty members.

Your generous contributions help the UW School of Nursing provide global-health learning experiences to one-third of our undergraduate students each year in places such as Thailand, Guatemala and Costa Rica. These experiences are profound, even life-changing, for our students.

• Nicole Hugie is a Master's of Nursing student in the Infectious Disease Adult Nurse Practitioner program with a dream of traveling internationally to help HIV/AIDS patients. Thanks to money from the school's Citizens of the World scholarship program, Nicole was able to live that dream on a six-week trip to Kenya in fall 2007, where she helped develop protocols for a UW-led study on a treatment method for HIV-positive patients. Nicole learned much about conducting research and the medical management of disease. But she also experienced some more poignant lessons: how to work with dying patients and the family members left behind; a new appreciation for life in a country where women are considered equals; and the simple effect of a friendly smile in breaking down language and cultural barriers.
• Anne Egleston, pursuing her bachelor's of science in nursing, brought her own lessons home from her fall 2007 trip to Guatemala, where the highlight was being able to participate in the natural birth of a baby. After spending two weeks providing health education and outreach to pregnant women, Anne says the trip was a powerful reminder that changing peoples' health behaviors happens slowly-and that being open to new ideas and diverse cultures is a prerequisite to becoming a culturally competent nurse.

You can help make more success stories like these possible. Every contribution helps our faculty succeed in developing stronger mentorship programs for our nursing graduates and teachers. Exceptional care from a UW nursing graduate means healthier individuals, families and communities. Your gift to the Nursing Excellence Fund makes this happen.

Recognition Levels

The President's Club ($2,000+)
Dean's Club ($1,000+)

Contact Information

Christine M. Miller
Assistant Director of Development
School of Nursing
Box 357260
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-7260
206.221.7674

More Information

For more information on the School of Nursing, visit our web site at www.son.washington.edu