Alvernia University to relocate its nursing program to downtown Reading

Alvernia University will be relocating its nursing program to the newly named John and Karen Arnold School of Nursing in downtown Reading.

The nursing school was named in honor of the largest ever philanthropic gift the university has received from a trustee.

That donation was from John and Karen Arnold, who joined students, faculty, staff and trustees Tuesday at the university’s John R. Post Center on Penn Street — where the nursing school will be relocated — for a naming celebration.

Alvernia declined to disclose the donation amount.

John Arnold is a founder and former CEO of PPC Lubricants Inc., and a member of Alvernia’s board of trustees since March 2021. Karen Arnold is the former vice president of transportation at PVH Corp.

In a speech at the celebration, John Arnold said nursing is Alvernia’s largest program and has been ranked within the top 100 nursing schools nationwide.

“Here we are with this great nursing program, very well run, and they’re doing it in facilities that are not at the same level,” he said. “It’s great to be a part of changing that.”

The nursing program will be expanded and modernized within renovated space at the John R. Post building, a 240,000-square-foot facility the university acquired in 2019 as part of its $20 million Reading CollegeTowne initiative.

The center is the university’s largest single facility and features many student gathering spaces, high-tech classrooms, an esports arena, student housing and interfaith prayer spaces, in addition to housing BCTV, Community First Fund, La Mega Radio, the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters’ Mother Veronica Resource Center and Starbucks.

The nursing school’s relocation is a key component of the second phase of renovations to the center, with the first phase involving the establishment of the university’s John R. Post School of Engineering.

The project will outfit the nursing school with 25,000 square feet of classroom and lab space, including a new health care simulation center.

“These will allow students to participate in interdisciplinary health care simulations to model real world care,” said Dr. Glynis Fitzgerald, Alvernia senior vice president and provost.

Renovations will also include space for expanded faculty and lab coordinator offices, a meeting room and storage areas for medical supplies and human patient simulators.

Those renovations are expected to wrap up in time for the fall 2023 semester, university officials said.

For Jamie Albert, a third-year nursing student at Alvernia, the relocation of the school’s nursing program marks a moment of growth, not only for the school’s facilities but the opportunities they offer.

“This will give us the recognition that our program deserves,” she said. “It will allow more students to enroll in nursing degree programs and provide advanced resources for teaching and learning. “This results in more nurses entering the community with the confidence to give essential care.”

Albert said the Arnolds’ donation is more than just a means of creating a state-of-the-art learning center.

“It (the donation) provides us with the inspiration to elevate our learning not just in this building but in all locations where students do our clinical rotations,” Albert told the Arnolds.

Alvernia President John R. Loyack thanked the Arnolds for their generosity.

“I would like to acknowledge the incredible generosity of the Arnold family, whose leadership in addressing the needs of our community…will benefit generations of future students and residents,” he said. “We are ecstatic…to meet the demands for qualified health care professionals in our region and continue to ignite economic redevelopment in downtown Reading.”

Source: Berkshire mont