Nursing School opens new building
University of Michigan School of Nursing (UMSN) students began the 2015-16 school year in a new building designed to foster engagement and prepare them as leaders who can transform health care.
“Every classroom and every space for clinical simulations, labs, lectures, studying and meetings was approached with the intention of enriching the learning experience for our students,” said Kathleen Potempa, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean of UMSN. “They now have what it takes to become leading nursing scientists, educators and paradigm changers.”
On Sept. 18, 2015, to celebrate the grand opening of the new building – located at the corner of North Ingalls and Kingsley – UMSN hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremonyand open house. U-M President Mark Schlissel was the first guest speaker at the event. He began by thanking Dean Potempa for strong leadership at the school, noting: “I just heard you’ve been waiting for this building for 124 years!” President Schlissel said that seeing so many alumni and supporters showed that “the Michigan family is stronger than ever.”
Shauna Ryder Diggs spoke on behalf of the U-M Board of Regents. She praised the nursing faculty for the ongoing excellence of the “Michigan nurses” that they prepare. Alumni examples she referenced include Autumn Augustine, BSN ’15, who rose to top leadership in the U-M ROTC during her senior year, and Joanne Disch, PhD ’85, who recently finished her term as president of the American Academy of Nursing.
Also speaking at the grand opening were U-M Provost Martha Pollack, UMSN alumna Deborah Gross (currently an endowed chair in psychiatric and mental health nursing at Johns Hopkins), UMSN senior Chris Plampin and Dean Potempa.
