SUNY Brockport’s nursing department will become a School of Nursing as of July 1 – a move university officials hope will further raise the program’s visibility and enrollment.
The change is mainly due to the department’s growth over the past 15 years. Enrollment in the undergraduate and graduate programs combined has increased by more than 300% within that time frame, officials said.
“We are our own school, with our own identity, not hidden under another school or within another school,” said Kathy Peterson, chairperson of the nursing department. Peterson is set to be the inaugural dean of the school.
She said this distinction will allow the program to attract more students and faculty.
“This allows us to be more visible, and it really gives us the administrative structure too,” Peterson said. “We're just going to be able to serve our students and faculty better as a school.”
The opportunity to grant promotions and tenure would be vital to recruit and retain faculty, Peterson said.
The university is renovating a 6,000-square-foot space to accommodate the new school and the expected jump in enrollment. Peterson said Hartwell Hall will include two more large labs and four simulation and debriefing rooms.
The building will be ready by 2028.
“We're well known in the nursing community, but I want us to be more well known in the greater Rochester community,” Peterson said.
