By Tucker Reilly, News Editor
On Monday, Sept. 14, St. Bonaventure University was awarded a grant of $200,000 from the state of New York as a part of the Workforce Development Initiative.
The university released a statement on Tuesday, Sept. 22, detailing the purpose of the grant.
The grant will provide “tuition aid for the School of Health Professions’ RN to B.S. in Nursing degree. The four-semester program, introduced in Fall 2019, allows registered nurses to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing,” according to a Bonaventure press release. The grant money will cover all tuition and textbooks for five students in the two-year nursing program, according to the full statement.
The Workforce Development Initiative dates back to Jan. 2018, when New York governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced a $175 million statewide investment in regional stimulus.
The Initiative officially launched in May 2019, with the explicit goals of “Supporting strategic regional efforts that meet businesses’ short-term workforce needs, improving regional talent pipelines, enhancing the flexibility and adaptability of local workforce entities, expanding apprenticeships and addressing the long-term needs of growing industries,” according to the governor’s official website.
As of Jan. 2020, Cuomo’s office estimated that nearly $10 million has been awarded thus far. The grant given to the university is a small portion of the total $9 million awarded to “66 businesses, schools, and community-based organizations across the state.”
The 2019 announcement for the Workforce Development Initiative also emphasized the goal of “Support[ing] efforts to improve the economic security of women, youth and other groups facing significant barriers to career advancement.”
The initiative’s sentiment appeared similar to the university’s own statement regarding the grant.
“The significance of this grant, for both the university and the Cattaraugus County community, is the removal of a substantial barrier for committed nurses in our community to increase their education, patient skills and clinical knowledge to offer a higher level of nursing care,” said Dr. Doug Pisano, professor and founding dean of the School of Health Professions, in a Bonaventure press release.
In order for students to be eligible they must be an associate prepared registered nurse with an active license, live or work in Cattaraugus County and be either a veteran, single parent or 55 years or older, according to Connie Perkins, founding director of nursing at Bonaventure.
Eligible students will be able to apply by contacting Perkins directly or visiting the web address sbu.edu/academics/nursing, according to Perkins. All eligible applicants will be reviewed for qualifications by the Nursing Department and five will be selected from the pool.
Perkins and the nursing department hope the grant will create publicity for Bonaventure’s newest program and the scholarships will attract prospective students to apply.
“This grant will greatly support the RN-BS program at SBU to help us get the word out about our program, especially during a time when COVID-19 is all that is talked about,” said Perkins to the TAPinto Greater Olean staff. “We anticipate that this grant will help us attract new students to our program and we hope who we select will be our champions to continue to spread the word.”
reillyt19@bonaventure.edu
