ASU receives $5.5M in funding to help fill nursing needs

PHOENIX — Arizona State University was awarded over $5 million to pay tuition and fees for 104 students, the school announced.

Most of the funding provided by the Arizona Department of Health Services will go toward paying for students starting college in the summer and set to graduate in summer 2024, according to a press release.

To meet the grant requirements, applicants accepted into the program must commit to working in Arizona for four years post-graduation.

“Our goal is to have the students getting experience there to stay there,” Judith Karshmer, dean of ASU’s Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, said in the release.

“Hopefully, it will give them a chance to think about moving to or working in, say, Wickenburg or one of those other small towns.”

A portion of the funding will also go toward hiring one part-time and two full-time faculty members as more than 90,000 qualified applicants were turned away from U.S. nursing schools in 2020 due to the lack of faculty members and classroom space.

Diversity will be an important factor when selecting the 104 students, Karshmer said.

“It’s quite a robust finding, whether it’s language, culture or just proximity,” Karshmer said. “We are trying to be really thoughtful about this.

“Our goal as a college is to have our graduates and our faculty look like the state of Arizona, and we need to do more work in that area.”

Those interested in learning about eligibility were advised to call 602-496-0937.

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