There are also about 2,000 full-time nursing faculty vacancies at U.S. nursing schools, says Katie Fioravanti, director of the foundation arm of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Leonard Lauder has given $177 million to nursing schools at the University of Pennsylvania and Hunter College, and Mark and Robyn Jones donated $100 million to expand Montana State University’s nursing program.
When Conway is considering a first-time gift, he and the head of his Bedford Falls Foundation, Elizabeth Carrott Minnigh, visit nursing schools, meet with deans and ask for data related to graduation rates and nursing licenses.
In 2022, roughly 78,000 qualified applicants were not accepted to U.S. nursing schools because of insufficient faculty, classrooms and lab space, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Many more people want to become nurses than there are spots available in nursing schools because there are not enough nursing professors.
