Building for the Future | School of Nursing

New Building and Increasing Enrollment will Help Address Critical Shortage of Nurses

Today more than ever our communities need nurses to care, lead and to educate future generations to address our nation’s nursing shortage and to solve healthcare’s greatest challenges.

The $50 million gift from UConn alumni Elisabeth DeLuca ’69 (NUR), will help support the construction of a new facility for the UConn School of Nursing along with support from Governor Ned Lamont, and the Connecticut legislature. $20 million of DeLuca’s gift will go directly to construction costs while $5 million will fund equipment for the building and the remainder of the gift will be used for student scholarships and programmatic support. The balance of the construction costs will be funded through UConn 2000 and State of Connecticut bonding.

The School of Nursing Building project is currently in the Planning Phase with construction to begin in November 2024 and complete by academic year 2026.

Location

The UConn School of Nursing’s new home will be strategically located between existing clinical, academic, and research space, and align with the long-term development plan outlined in the 2015-2035 Campus Master Plan.

The Proposed Action to be assessed under the Connecticut Environmental Policy Act (CEPA) would construct up to a 5-story building approximately 90,000 gross square feet (gsf) in size. The building program would include:

Instructional spaces, including a lecture hall and classrooms

A Simulation Lab Suite

A Human Behavioral Research Lab

A Wet Lab

A Student Academic Center

Offices and support spaces

Accessible parking and service and loading zones would also be provided on-site, as well as usable open space around the building.

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to accommodate increased enrollment for the School of Nursing that in turn will help address the shortage of nurses, the changing nature of healthcare, and the increasing disparity in health outcomes regionally and nationally. Storrs Hall cannot fulfill that purpose or adequately satisfy future requirements in terms of size and spatial configuration.

The new School of Nursing building would support new teaching modes by educating nurses through patient-centered practice, interdisciplinary research, and technology-based innovations.