Nursing lab at IU Southeast gets a $500,000 shot in the arm from local donors

15th March 2013

NEW ALBANY, IN, (March 15, 2013) – Indiana University Southeast announced today a half-million dollar gift to the School of Nursing by Judge Carlton and Sue Sanders.

The generous gift will create The Judge Carlton and Sue Sanders Laboratory for Nursing Education. The current eight-bed nursing lab will undergo renovations to expand into two separate spaces: a skills lab with 16 beds where students learn basic nursing techniques, and a two-room simulation lab that will house the school’s robotic, simulated patients.

The total space will more than double in size, but will retain its hospital-like setting to provide students with real-world practice while still in school.

IU Southeast nursing students surround IU Southeast Chancellor Sandra R. Patterson-Randles (center left, in blue), Judge Carlton Sanders (center), and Interim Dean of the School of Nursing Jacquelyn Reid (center right, in tan) at the announcement of a $500,000 gift to the IU Southeast School of Nursing from Judge Carlton and Sue Sanders. The announcement was made Friday, March 15, at IU Southeast.

IU Southeast nursing students surround IU Southeast Chancellor Sandra R. Patterson-Randles (center left, in blue), Judge Carlton Sanders (center), and Interim Dean of the School of Nursing Jacquelyn Reid (center right, in tan) at the announcement of a $500,000 gift to the IU Southeast School of Nursing from Judge Carlton and Sue Sanders. The announcement was made Friday, March 15, at IU Southeast.

“The School of Nursing at IU Southeast has provided highly trained, extremely capable and caring nurses to Southern Indiana and the Greater Louisville region since 1968. The expansion of our nursing lab will ensure that our graduates are successful for years to come,” said Jacquelyn Reid, interim dean of the School of Nursing. “We are tremendously grateful to the Sanders for their gift and their continuing support of our students.”

The gift was announced Friday, March 15, at a luncheon honoring the Sanders at IU Southeast. The Sanders are both IU Southeast alumni and recipients of the IU Southeast Alumni Award of Excellence. They have been gracious benefactors to IU Southeast for several years, most notably in the School of Business where they have established the Sanders Chair, the Sanders Financial Markets Lab, and the Sanders Speaker Series.

With the School of Nursing, the couple wanted to provide support to a program that has long maintained a strong presence in the University. The Sanders attended an open house at the school where they got a small glimpse into the program and saw the potential benefits to their gift.

“I talked to a lot of people in the community, and everyone indicated this is the best school around as far as nursing programs go,” Judge Carlton Sanders said. “Sue and I felt that if we could improve it, we should. It was our desire to make the best even better.”

Renovations will begin shortly and the lab is expected to be complete in time for the fall 2014 semester.

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