Announcing Plans for the Rutgers School of Nursing-Camden (Sept. 9, 2009)

To the Campus Community:

Earlier today, President Richard L. McCormick announced his support for the creation of a comprehensive School of Nursing here on the Rutgers–Camden Campus.

Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Margaret Marsh, Department of Nursing Chair Joanne Robinson, and Vice Chancellor Larry Gaines will lead the effort to secure consultation of the faculty and to draft the proposal.  The proposal to establish the Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden will be brought before the Rutgers Board of Governors, the New Jersey Presidents’ Council, and the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education.  

This is an extraordinary opportunity to transform our campus and Rutgers’ service to southern New Jersey and the Delaware Valley.  The creation of a Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden will address the overwhelming demand for a Rutgers baccalaureate nursing education in southern New Jersey through the expanded enrollment of 300 pre-licensure students and 45 registered nurse students over a six-year period.  Graduate nursing programs are planned in targeted clinical specialties with functional minors that are most needed in the southern New Jersey region.  We also will pursue the creation of a PhD nursing program to develop top-tier nurse scientists and scholars. 

Rutgers–Camden currently offers an upper-division nursing major through the Department of Nursing within the Rutgers–Camden College of Arts and Sciences.  Among the 18 New Jersey schools that grant baccalaureate and advanced degrees in nursing, Rutgers–Camden is one of only two institutions located south of Trenton. 

There is a critical lack of capacity in nursing education in southern New Jersey.  Here at Rutgers–Camden, we are forced to turn away qualified applicants each year due to space restrictions.  A full-fledged School of Nursing will allow Rutgers–Camden to serve more students which, in turn, will increase undergraduate enrollments, primarily in courses offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

As home to southern New Jersey’s only law school and first internationally accredited business school, as well as the only nationally accredited public policy program in the Delaware Valley and the nation’s first doctoral program in childhood studies, the opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaborations at our campus will provide a unique and rich experience for Rutgers nursing students.

Rutgers–Camden nursing already is experiencing growth.  Beginning in the fall of 2010, Rutgers–Camden will introduce a four-year undergraduate nursing program, which will provide students with earlier immersion in the rich clinical experiences typically offered later in the student’s education. 

Recently, Rutgers–Camden updated its specialized RN to BSN program that allows registered nurses to earn their baccalaureate degrees in order to remain competitive with growing demands for nursing professionals hold the BSN degree.  Another updated offering is Rutgers–Camden’s school nurse certification program that matches today’s demand for specialized nurses.

I would like to thank Dr. Joanne Robinson, chair of the Department of Nursing, and the faculty and staff of the nursing department, for their commitment to advancing nursing education at our campus.  I also thank Dr. Margaret Marsh, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, for her unwavering commitment to the establishment of this school.  We also owe a debt of gratitude to President McCormick and Executive Vice President Phil Furmanski for sharing and nurturing our vision of growth.

Clearly, there is much more work to be done.  We are at the beginning of this process.  Together, I am certain we will realize our goal.

Wendell Pritchett

Chancellor