$1 million gift to Carolina Nursing supports new Nursing Education Building

The UNC School of Nursing has received a $1 million gift — among the largest in school history — from an anonymous donor. This historic donation was given by a Carolina Nursing alum in her mother’s memory and will support the new Nursing Education Building. 

A New Home for Carolina Nursing 

The UNC School of Nursing is long overdue for a building that will help us better meet the health care needs of people in and beyond North Carolina. With partial funding secured from the state and plans to break ground later this year, Carolina Nursing’s project to build a new state-of-the-art facility is well under way.  

This anonymous gift kicks off the public phase of the UNC School of Nursing’s $20 million building campaign, which will run through the completion of the building project in the summer of 2025. To date, more than $8 million in private funds has been raised toward the fundraising goal.  

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An Enduring Impact 

Val Howard, dean of the School of Nursing, said this generous gift to support the new nursing education building will have an enduring impact on future Carolina Nursing students.  

“The donors’ investment in the future of Carolina Nursing will not only provide our students with a modern and well-equipped space to learn,” she explained, “it also provides an invaluable opportunity for them to be in an environment that fosters collaboration, creativity, and innovation.” 

“We can’t thank them enough for their generosity and foresight in supporting our program in this way. Receiving private support for this building is essential to our ability to help lead the profession and meet the healthcare needs of our state.”

Val Howard, Dean of the UNC School of Nursing

A graduate of Carolina Nursing, the donor wanted to find a meaningful way to invest in the future of the School. “My mother was a nurse for many years,” the donor explained. “She passed away in 2020 during COVID in the care of the nurses at UNC hospitals. This gift will honor my mother’s life and support all the wonderful work taking place at Carolina Nursing.” 

They hope this gift will encourage others to support the building campaign at the School of Nursing, especially as the state and nation face a critical nursing shortage and demand is on the rise for highly skilled nurses to keep our communities healthy and safe. 

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Building the Future of Nursing

Please visit the School of Nursing’s building campaign page to learn more about how our new world-class facility will: 

• Allow the UNC School of Nursing to help address the critical nurse shortage in North Carolina by enabling larger class sizes. This means more Carolina Nurses entering the workforce to provide quality, compassionate care on the frontlines of our health care systems. 
• Increase the school’s overall space by 20,000 square feet. 
• Expand our simulation and clinical learning space to facilitate innovative simulation scenarios. 
• Provide a modern structure complete with the latest technologies to better prepare students.