A new scholarship for northeast Nebraska nursing students

A new scholarship for nursing students in northeast Nebraska is meant to draw more people into nursing education.

A new scholarship that provides tuition, fees and a living stipend is available for students in northeast Nebraska who are interested in a nursing career.

The UNMC Excellence Scholarship is designed to develop nurses who want to teach nursing.

“There are not enough nurse educators to teach the next generation of students and provide critical care to patients across Nebraska,” said Ruth Macnamara, Ph.D., associate professor and assistant dean of the UNMC College of Nursing Northern Division, which is on the Northeast Community College Campus in Norfolk. “This scholarship is the first use of a community fund designed to remedy that.”

The scholarship would provide UNMC tuition, fees and a living stipend for up to two years and may be extended. The recipient must maintain a 3.5 GPA and be a resident of one of the north region counties (see sidebar story on the right).

Counties of eligibility Students from the following counties are eligible for the UNMC Excellence Scholarship: Antelope; Boone; Boyd; Brown; Burt; Cedar; Cherry; Colfax; Cuming; Dakota; Dixon; Dodge; Holt; Keya Paha; Knox; Madison; Nance; Pierce; Platte; Rock; Stanton; Thurston; Wayne; and Wheeler.

Funding for the scholarship is provided by the Nursing Fund for Excellence, which was established to provide greater student assistance and state-of-the-art equipment. Faith Regional Health Services is a major contributor to the fund, along with hospitals, health agencies and individuals in north and northeast Nebraska.

“The college continues to be impressed with the support it receives from northeast Nebraskans for the new nursing program in the area,” Dr. Macnamara said. “This scholarship is the initial step in giving back to the community. More use of the funds will follow during the year prior to the opening of the nursing program and building.”

The facility, named the J. Paul and Eleanor McIntosh College of Nursing, is scheduled to open in 2010 and will house nursing programs of UNMC and Northeast Community College. A unique public-private partnership made the project possible. Private donations of $11.9 million funded the project and operating expenses will be provided by the state of Nebraska, Northeast Community College (NECC) and federal funds generated by NECC.

Scholarship applications for the 2009-2010 academic school year can be submitted now. Applications for other academic school years will be accepted on a continual basis. The application is available at UNMC’s College of Nursing Web site. E-mail completed forms to rmacnamara@unmc.edu.

For more information, contact Dr. Macnamara at (402) 253-5515 or rmacnamara@unmc.edu.