The Marshall University Board of Governors (BOG) today approved plans for a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, a degree that allows nurses to practice at the highest level of professional nursing.
Marshall’s College of Health Professions and its School of Nursing will administer the new degree, which is described in the planning documents as a natural extension of the university’s popular family nurse practitioner program. Administrators say the program will deliver convenient access to those in southern West Virginia where no program currently exists. It will also be delivered completely online, meaning students from across the country will be able to enroll. It’s anticipated that 25 nurses will graduate annually from the program once it’s up and running.
The proposed start date is fall 2019.
The BOG also approved a quarterly investment earnings update, the university’s six-month budget report and the school of pharmacy’s tuition and fees for 2019-2020. Tuition for the pharmacy program will increase 3.12 percent for residential students and 2.2 for non-resident students.
In other news, the Presidential Committee to Examine Building Names, an ad hoc committee formed last spring by President Jerome A. Gilbert to review building names on campus, delivered its report to the board. Finding only one building name that warranted possible further scrutiny – Jenkins Hall, named after confederate officer and Marshall Academy graduate Albert G. Jenkins – the committee offered several possibilities to the BOG.
The board voted to retain the name Jenkins Hall. The resolution also calls for the installation of a display inside the building denouncing bigotry, prejudice and discrimination in any form and reaffirms Marshall’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. A statement from the BOG on today’s decision is available here.
Other options contained in the report included changing the name to the Marshall Lab School Building or using some combined name reflecting the building’s historic name and its historic function. President Gilbert, in sending the report to the BOG for discussion, offered his own remarks regarding naming of buildings which, in part, recommended referring to the university’s policy for naming of units and facilities as a benchmark for future decisions and language.
The board also voted to name Marshall’s new school of pharmacy facility being constructed on the corner of Charleston Avenue and Hal Greer Boulevard in honor of Marshall’s late president, Dr. Stephen J. Kopp, whose dedication and commitment were foundational to the school’s birth. Under his leadership, more than $300 million was invested in new buildings and building renovation and academic programs grew dramatically.
Stephen J. Kopp Hall will be formally dedicated later this summer.
In other action and in preparation for spring commencement, the board approved the conferral of two honorary degrees for individuals who will be named at a later date.
Additional statement from today’s meeting from President Jerome A. Gilbert
“I want to thank committee chair Christie Kinsey for her steady and objective leadership in approaching this sensitive issue,” President Gilbert said. “I also thank the other committee members and consultant Lacy Ward Jr. for helping shape and shepherd this process.”