ASU Board of Trustees Approves $8M Nursing Building

The Arkansas State University System Board of Trustees recently approved the construction of a new nursing building at its Three Rivers campus in Malvern, Ark. The university received $8 million in federal funding for the project through the Fiscal Year 2023 year-end spending package pushed by U.S. Senator John Boozman, according to a university news release.

The new facility will measure between 22,000–25,000 square feet and feature four simulation labs with control rooms, an obstetrics room, a pediatric room, and two adult medical-surgical nursing spaces, the news release reports. It will also feature two 50-student computer labs and a 150-seat auditorium.

“We deeply appreciate Senator Boozman’s efforts to secure funding for ASU Three Rivers’ nursing program and for the construction of a facility to provide academic excellence for healthcare in Arkansas,” said ASU Three Rivers Chancellor Dr. Steve Rook.

The Arkansas State Board of Nursing (ASBN) recommended a larger facility to keep up with student enrollment during a site visit in 2019. The university’s current health science facility measures in at just 11,000 square feet.

“ASU Three Rivers has a longstanding tradition of preparing students to enter the workforce as professionals in the healthcare and health science fields,” said Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Pat Simms. “The College’s Practical Nursing program is one of the College’s oldest programs, producing more graduates than any other since the school’s inception.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Auburn University Debuts $224M STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., recently opened its new $224-million STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex, the largest research construction project in the university’s history, according to university news. The facility measures more than 265,000 square feet and brings six departments from the College of Agriculture and College of Sciences and Mathematics together under one roof.

  • Phoenix High School Completes First Phase of Campus Renovations

    Metro Tech High School, part of the Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) in Phoenix, Ariz., recently announced the completion of the first stage of a campus renovation project, according to a news release. The school reopened a series of public-facing business operations spaces including credit union, daycare, floral, cosmetology, and culinary services. It also includes new CTE learning spaces for the school’s nursing assistant, pharmacy, and sports medicine programs.

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • University of Kentucky Reopens Scovell Hall

    The University of Kentucky recently reopened Scovell Hall, part of the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE), following comprehensive renovations to the 120-year-old facility in Lexington, Ky., according to a news release.