President’s Letter
Dear Friends,
Franciscan University is in a big mess right now; and we’re celebrating! Because this construction mess is a sign of building and renewal.
It is awesome and humbling to be building for and with the Lord! He takes our messes and builds his kingdom, and he gives us the privilege of building with and through him. We can pray like King David: “Who are we, O Lord God, and what is our house, that you have brought us thus far?… For your servants’ sake, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness” (cf. 1 Chron. 17:16-19).
The home turf of our lacrosse, soccer, and rugby teams, Trinity Health System Field, is in phase two of construction. The track is getting a rubber coating; men’s and women’s locker rooms and restroom facilities are being built. Christ the King Chapel will also be undergoing renovation and expansion. And the biggest project of all: In October, we will break ground on Christ the Teacher, the new academic and evangelization center.
All because of the support of generous benefactors.
I’ve been meeting with supporters of our Rebuild My Church Capital Campaign, and I like to ask: Why do you support what we’re doing at Franciscan University? Oftentimes, their responses are incredibly emotional and personal. Almost always it’s a celebration of what God has done and is doing here.
As I announced at commencement, we’ve reached our Phase One goal of $75 million, and the capital campaign continues. We have more building to do so we can prepare and send new generations on mission.
I know I keep saying this, but—I believe the Lord has more for us. He always does.
I can’t wait to see what’s next!
Peace and blessings!
Father Dave Pivonka, TOR ’89
President
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Empowering Our Nursing Students
Franciscan University’s undergraduate and graduate Nursing Programs have been first-rate for decades. They combine a stellar nursing education with respect for the dignity of every human person and the sacredness of human life. The first-time pass rate for the NCLEX, the licensing test for nurses, has remained above the national and state averages for years, and graduates have a 100 percent job placement rate. Franciscan University nursing graduates’ reputations for compassionate, professional, Christlike service make them highly sought after, and the department routinely receives calls from facilities looking to hire Franciscan graduates from both the bachelor’s program and the Master of Science in Nursing Program.
Right now, Franciscan University is turning out top-notch nurses from their current digs in Egan Hall, a cramped 7,000 square feet. Just the number of nursing students—250 and growing—cries out for more space.
“The simulation lab is significantly smaller than recommended for a program of this size,” says Nursing Department Chair Dr. Catherine (Recznik ’10, MSN ’12) Sullivan. “Simulations are routinely scheduled during evening hours so students can be in small enough groups to gain the skills they need to be successful in clinical practice.”
The Rebuild My Church Capital Campaign aims to solve the Nursing Department’s space constraints by allotting it a floor in Christ the Teacher Hall and Conference Center. The plan for the new building houses academics and evangelization under the same roof, with a wing dedicated to faith formation and a wing dedicated to academics. Like the undergraduate and graduate Nursing Programs themselves, the building will be dedicated to both faith and reason.
When Christ the Teacher Hall is completed, the Nursing Department’s physical footprint will nearly triple in size, with over 20,000 square feet dedicated to nursing: classrooms, SIM labs, control rooms, offices, and more.
The new nursing wing will be named after Terry and Barbara Caster, in honor of their tremendous generosity to Franciscan University (see Franciscan Friends, page 28).
Terry Caster believes in solid education, and over the years, he and his late wife have been particularly supportive of nursing education, both at Franciscan University and elsewhere. He recently made a significant commitment to the Rebuild My Church Campaign; specifically, the Christ the Teacher building; more specifically, Franciscan University’s Nursing Programs.
Franciscan also collaborates with the institute the Casters helped found, Life Perspectives, to include their compassionate approach to pregnancy-loss healing as a part of the nursing student formation.
Caster says that when he was 5 years old, two cousins moved in with his family in South Dakota. They were training to be nurses, and they kept in touch through the years.
“They told us a lot about nursing,” says Caster. They were impressive, and it stuck with him. At school, his teacher, a religious sister, spoke often about the importance of helping people, and it “tied together with what those two cousins were going to do.” It was an early connection with nurses’ training and service.
Just the number of nursing students–250 and growing–cries out for more space.
The seed planted in young and receptive soil grew and flourished. Caster has dedicated his energy and resources to the support of education, nursing, and compassionate service for decades.
The new Terry and Barbara Caster Nursing Wing will provide an appropriately up-to-date and spacious platform for nursing formation, particularly with the expansion of the simulation lab. This space allows nursing students to practice what they’re learning in the classroom without risking harm to human patients. The lab will mimic a real-world medical environment, with manikins as patients simulating nursing scenarios like childbirth, illness, trauma, and more.
Says Sullivan, “By participating in simulations, students will have the opportunity to experience high risk, low frequency events, as well as practice assessments and interventions for more common situations and emergencies.”
Simulation experiences, says Sullivan, are “a chance to interact with situations that are either uncommon but really important to recognize, or perhaps are extremely common and have major learning opportunities.”
The manikins have silicone skin for a more realistic feel; heart and lung sounds; palpable pulses; visible chest rise; anatomically correct airways; blood pressure readings; and much more. One manikin can simulate labor and delivery. Faculty use a case-study based curriculum, which includes programming the manikins to represent realistic nursing scenarios requiring management or intervention, to give students the opportunity to recognize symptoms, make decisions, and practice treatments.
“This is particularly helpful in clinical situations where staff would not be able to wait for the student to recognize what is happening,” says Sullivan. “For example, if in a clinical setting, a newborn begins to demonstrate difficulty breathing, it would not be appropriate for the nurse caring for the patient to sit back and wait for the student to recognize and intervene.”
The new building will include dedicated control rooms for faculty to observe and communicate with the students as they work with the manikins. The wing will also have conference areas that can be used to “debrief” the students, to ask and answer questions and explore alternatives.
“Best practice says we should have access to video recordings of the students’ performance during the simulation,” Sullivan explains. “The new debriefing space will be dedicated to this purpose and will provide the technology for us to show students the timing and outcomes of their interventions. This is a really exciting addition for our simulation program.”
The latest members of Franciscan’s medical manikin family are the Laerdal SimBaby™ (9-month-old) and SimNewB® (newborn) manikins. The new “babies” were provided through a grant from Mary Jane Brooks Charitable Trust, and they were welcomed with a baby shower, complete with decorations and cake and an opportunity to give gifts to the local pregnancy help center. As a part of the shower, guests submitted potential baby names. SimBaby was named Mary Jane, in honor of the granting organization; SimNewB was named Carolyn, after the long-standing, now retired, Nursing Department chair, Dr. Carolyn Miller.
The new space will include additional new manikins and equipment purchased through the Casters’ generous gift. Like the new building that will contain it, Franciscan’s bachelor’s Nursing Program and MSN Program will continue to present both faith and reason to form compassionate, faithful, and highly skilled nurses to love, serve, and heal patients.
“Our nursing students and faculty have been working patiently in the same facilities for many years,” says Sullivan. “We are grateful and humbled by Mr. Caster’s generosity and will think of him often when we move into the new building in fall 2024.”
