MU alumni couple donate $1 million to help renovate and build a new home for the College of Nursing

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – Marquette University announced it has received a $1 million gift from an alumni couple, Micky and Jennifer Minhas, that will kick-start a renovation effort and build another one. new home for the College of Nursing in the heart of campus.

In response to ambitious growth plans, the College of Nursing will move to David A. Straz, Jr. Hall. renovated and expanded in 2024.

According to a news release, Micky Minhas, a 1989 graduate of Opus Technical College, is currently a member of the university’s Board of Trustees. Jennifer (Burdick) Minhas also graduated from the College of Nursing in 1989 and served on the Time to Rise nursing advocacy committee.

Jennifer and Micky Minhas said: “The Marquette Nurses provide care with integrity, passion and excellence in the holistic care of people. “We firmly believe that the College of Nursing’s strategic plan to expand enrollment, diversity, and research opportunities will underpin our commitment to caring for our communities. We are proud to support the school’s vision with this gift. ”

Marquette’s College of Business Administration will move out of Straz Hall to the new home of Marquette’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation leadership programs in December 2022. Significant renovations and a new addition are underway. Construction for Straz Hall would then immediately pave the way for the College of Nursing. moves into its five-story facility in 2024. The building, which will be more than 100,000 square feet when completed, sits across from one of Marquette’s most iconic religious spaces – the Chapel of St. Joan of Arc – and next to The Gesu Church.

“It is vitally important that we increase the number of our Nurses Marquette graduates in the Catholic, Jesuit tradition, and this generous gift from Jennifer and Micky has greatly enhanced our efforts. ,” actor Dean Jill Guttormson, PhD, MS, RN. . “Marquette Nurses graduates are ready to make an immediate impact as leaders and advocates to improve the health of the communities, families and individuals they serve.”

Inside the new home of the College of Nursing

The first floor of the renovated facility will feature an open skylight, an auditorium and several flexible classrooms, along with a new Student Success Nursing Center – providing comprehensive student support services to support Supporting a new generation of nurses through first-year seminars, tutoring programs, and learning communities. Skills labs are spread throughout the second floor, and a large glass-enclosed student bathroom overlooks the campus.

Guttormson says extensive simulation labs will surround the third floor with attached answer rooms for reflex modeling, clinical judgment, critical thinking skills and reasoning.

The creative spaces will provide enhanced opportunities to simulate real-time health scenarios taking place in the operating room, specialist clinic or in home healthcare. The top floors will house the collaborative research lab, the principal’s office, additional classrooms and faculty offices.

“Every decision we made in shaping this facility was based on supporting student learning in a rapidly changing environment,” said Vice President of Planning and Facilities Management Lora Striges said. “Our nursing students and faculty live by the Jesuit model of individual cura, caring for the whole person, and our goal is to envision and create a similar facility of activity. for them.”

As the university’s Campus Master Plan continues to evolve, Clark Hall, the current home of the College of Nursing, will be evaluated for future use.