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New Academic Year Brings Renovated Residence Hall, Nursing Lab, First-Year Enrollment Increase

New Academic Year Brings Renovated Residence Hall, Nursing Lab, First-Year Enrollment Increase

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  • Pioneer Hall
    Pioneer Hall underwent a $2.3 million renovation that was completed this summer.
  • Pioneer Hall
    Among the amenities, Pioneer Hall includes technology-theme study spaces.
  • new nursing skills lab
    The new nursing skills lab provides exam rooms and equipment for realistic patient scenarios.
  • Kellie Long
    Nursing professor Kellie Long shows off the new nursing skills lab during a recent open house.
  • Pioneer Hall
    Pioneer Hall underwent a $2.3 million renovation that was completed this summer.
  • Pioneer Hall
    Among the amenities, Pioneer Hall includes technology-theme study spaces.
  • new nursing skills lab
    The new nursing skills lab provides exam rooms and equipment for realistic patient scenarios.
  • Kellie Long
    Nursing professor Kellie Long shows off the new nursing skills lab during a recent open house.

When Nebraska Wesleyan University kicks off the 2015-2016 academic year on Monday, August 24, it will welcome it’s largest first-year class in 50 years.

“Nebraska Wesleyan produces impressive outcomes and families are recognizing and valuing that,” said William Motzer, vice president for enrollment management.

Seventy-five of those new students moved into Pioneer Hall, a 58-year-old residence hall that received a $2.3 million facelift. The renovation included modernization of rooms, new heating and cooling units, an elevator, and technology-themed collaborative study spaces in the basement. A formal ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held during homecoming in September.

The fall semester is also a milestone for the university’s nursing students who begin their first cohort of courses in NWU’s new nursing skills lab. The facility, located in the basement of Olin Hall of Science, includes equipment and exam rooms that will provide students with realistic patient scenarios.

Students will also find a renovated library, which includes more open, dynamic study spaces on the first floor. The $373,000 renovation was made possible through the generosity of an anonymous donor.

The new academic year also brings:

  • Improved wired and wireless internet access in all residence halls and campus apartments;
  • 15 new full-time faculty
  • A new Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction degree. Classes begin in June 2016.
  • Wrestling as an intercollegiate sport. Recruiting begins immediately and competition begins winter 2016.
  • Three new full-time coaches for baseball, softball and wrestling.