RADFORD, Va. – Radford University is the only public institution in Virginia to have a separate college of nursing.
“It elevates nursing to the platform in which it needs to be because we know that across the United States, we need more nurses,” said Wendy Downey, the interim dean of the College of Nursing.
The school has had a nursing program for 50 years but with the approval from the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia, the change creates a dedicated department focused solely on nursing.
“[The university has] prioritized nursing, in addition to all the other majors, knowing that this is a need throughout the commonwealth,” Downey said.
She said the creation of the separate college emphasizes the importance of the nursing field, and the need for well-educated nurses in the world.
“Part of the mission of the university is to create those professions that are needed in our region and, just in Southwest Virginia, we have such a large need for nursing,” Downey said.
In the 2022-2023 academic year, Radford awarded 258 nursing degrees. She said at Radford University, students who graduate from the program are in the workforce immediately.
“100 percent of our graduates who desire to work in nursing get jobs,” Downey said.
The College of Nursing is equipped with state-of-the-art, hands-on equipment so when students graduate, they have hands-on experience.
Officials said becoming a separate college puts the university on a national stage in the medical field.