13 / AGENTS OF POSITIVE CHANGE
“This program has opened up a whole new aspect of nursing for me. Instead of just carrying out tasks, I now know the research and science behind those tasks.” > Amanda Marin, Class of ’23, RN to BSN Degree Program
W hile opening a new college is a bold venture, the College of Health and Community Well-Being (CHCWB) builds on the university’s 50 years of successful programming in the healthcare field, including popular undergraduate degrees in kinesiology and health administration, as well as graduate programs in physician assistant practice and clinical psychology. The college is also powered by our core values, with its focus on diversity, inclusion, social mobility opportunities for students, and having a positive impact on the community. Over a five-year rollout period, more degree programs will be added, with the ultimate goal of building a thriving, comprehensive educational resource for Inland Southern California.
Colin Buckley ’14 thinks the opening of the new college is “fantastic!” He should know; armed with a BS in Biology with a pre-med focus from the University of La Verne, he attained his MD from the University of Oklahoma in 2018 and is now in his fourth-year surgery residency at the University of South Alabama. Coming to the University of La Verne as a veteran who had seen combat in Afghanistan, Buckley’s goal remains to become a trauma surgeon for the military. He raves about his time here, asserting that what he learned was essential to his success today. Buckley says: “It’s exciting to see the University of La Verne expand its healthcare programming to reach more people. The medical community is really hurting for nurses now; we are shorthanded everywhere.” This acute shortage of nurses is something that University of La Verne Trustee John Raffoul, DPA ’02 is very familiar with. As President of Adventist Health White Memorial (AHWM), a teaching hospital focused on serving low-income populations, staffing is something he thinks about constantly. His current goal for AHWM is to achieve “magnet hospital” status from the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center (ANCC). To meet the criteria for certification, 100 percent of nurse leaders and 80 percent of nursing staff overall must have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. In a key collaboration with the University of La Verne, AHWM made a gift to establish a targeted scholarship fund for students in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing: RN to BSN program, the first new degree program to be rolled out under the CHCWB banner. The fund supports AHWM
v Thank you to Frances Ware ’64 for her extraordinary gift of $2.3 million to name the John A. Ware nursing program after her late husband. Because of strong early support like this, the College of Health and Community Well-Being is off to a roaring start!
We wanted to give back to the university in a way that would leave a
lasting impact with students. > Frances Ware ’64
Frances ’64 and John A. Ware
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator