Governor Christie Tours New Thomas Edison State University Nursing School

Press Release

Transforming a historic Trenton treasure into a modern, world-class higher education facility, Governor Chris Christie today toured Glen Cairn Hall on West State Street, which will house the W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing at Thomas Edison State University. The project received $13.3 million in state funding, including $12.7 million in Building Our Future General Obligation Bond Act funds. The building is almost complete and is slated to open later this year.
"A crumbling, abandoned apartment complex at a key gateway to the State House Historic District has been transformed into a new state-of-the-art teaching and learning space for the state's largest nursing program," said Governor Christie. "This investment, through Building Our Future bond funding, will prepare students to enter the nursing profession and lucrative careers in New Jersey's healthcare industry, a crucial sector of our economy that grew even during the Great Recession and continues to expand. Additionally, this project builds upon our economic redevelopment efforts in Trenton, creating jobs and attracting people to the city."

The Governor's tour coincided with National Nurses Week, which recognizes nurses working in the many fields of the health care profession. It begins each year on May 6 and ends on May 12, Florence Nightingale's birthday.
The university acquired the West State Street site from the City of Trenton in 2013 and demolished the former Glen Cairn Arms apartment complex, which sat vacant for decades. The total $26.2 million, 34,000 square-foot new construction project was designed to reflect the many former mansions that were located along that portion of West State Street.
Glen Cairn Hall was built to respond to the School of Nursing's increasing instructional and academic support needs, including the University's newest program, the Accelerated Second Degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. The program allows students who already possess a bachelor's degree in a non-nursing discipline to complete a BSN in one year. The facility includes a state-of-the-art nursing simulation laboratory that uses patient simulators to create various healthcare scenarios and allows students to demonstrate clinical decision making skills in a safe practice environment. There also are lecture halls, conference rooms and the University's testing and assessment center for students in all programs.
The Institute of Medicine Report 2010 called for increasing the number of baccalaureate-prepared nurses in the workforce by 80 percent by the year 2020. Due to a nursing shortage in New Jersey and changes in the healthcare industry, the School of Nursing is now the largest nursing program in the state and one of the largest online programs of its kind in the nation, with enrollment increasing nearly six-fold, from 584 to 3,369 in just four years.
Signed by Governor Christie and approved by voters, the GO Bond Act was the first state-backed funding for higher education construction in 25 years and authorized up to $750 million in state grants for new academic facilities. Combined with grant funding made available from other state-supported grant programs for higher education facilities, the Christie Administration authorized nearly $1.3 billion in grants in 2013 for 176 projects at 46 institutions for cutting-edge research laboratories, computerized classrooms and cyber networks that allow students and faculty to interact with colleagues around the world.

In November 2015, Governor Christie announced a second round of funding for higher education construction projects. Those projects will be announced later this year.

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