During the summer of 2007, the College of Mount Saint Vincent's Nursing Program was awarded four grants totaling $2 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The grants, which represent a renewal and doubling of HRSA grants awarded in 2004, will support programs that seek to expand the supply of qualified nurses while promoting diversity within the nursing profession.

HRSA awarded our Nursing Department's “Ambassadors for Professional Nursing Success” project $1.12 million under its Nursing Workforce Diversity Program. These funds will provide the crucial resources: stipends, computers, academic space and mentoring services, necessary to attract and assure the success of students from underrepresented backgrounds.

Another grant of $713,000 from HRSA's Advanced Education Nursing Program will support the "Post-Masters Nurse Education Certificate Program." At a time of escalating nursing shortages nationwide PMNE will prepare nurses at the master’s level to teach nursing in institutions of higher education and health care settings. The special emphasis here will be on preparing future faculty from culturally diverse students who will in turn teach and foster learning in other such students.

The last two grants both award either stipends or scholarships to meritorious disadvantaged students who might not otherwise possess the means to attend the College's Nursing Program. These awards--from HRSA's Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students and Advanced Education Nursing Traineeships grant programs--are in the amounts of $142,000 and $26,000 respectively.