The Brooklyn Home For Aged Men presented CSI with $100,000 in scholarship support today. The creation of this endowment will support Nursing students pursuing a career with a focus in geriatric care, and will provide support in perpetuity. In addition, this $100,000 gift will be matched through a U.S. Department of Education challenge endowment as part of the College’s Title 3 grant, making the total endowment size $200,000.
Noting that the Brooklyn Home For Aged Men has been serving senior citizens since 1878, CSI President Tomás D. Morales said, “Today, we at CSI can continue their mission of serving the elderly by providing future nurses with the tools they need to provide important geriatric care.”
Nancy K. Munson, Board President of the Brooklyn Home For Aged Men commented, “We would like to see that young people go in the direction of taking care of the elderly. Since [CSI has] a very good [Nursing] program, we wanted to help finance it.”
Mary O’Donnell, chairperson of CSI’s Department of Nursing, underscored the importance of this endowment for the College’s Nursing students and the community. “The endowment…is going to educate many nurses in the field of gerontology. There’s a great need for geriatric nurses right now, the geriatric population is growing by leaps and bounds. The students are enthused. They’re working right now in various areas of community health and nursing homes and they can use the assistance that this is going to give them.”
CSI offers many diverse degrees in Nursing. Offerings include a Master of Science (MS) in Gerontological Nursing, an Advanced Certificate in Cultural Competence, and a Doctor of Nursing Science in association with the CUNY Graduate Center. Nurses who successfully complete programs at CSI are prepared to meet the needs of culturally diverse individuals, families, and communities, and will have a competitive edge in the changing environment of health care.
CSI recently completed the construction of a new on-campus facility, where Nursing students will experience simulated hospital scenarios in a controlled environment, featuring a new Laerdal SimMan Patient Simulator, a life-sized mannequin on which students can perform medical procedures. Funds for this project were generously granted by New York State Senator Andrew J. Lanza.
“CSI houses superb laboratories, studios, and classrooms, and is home to a world-class team of dedicated faculty,” said President Morales. “We are dedicated to the art of teaching and the science of research by promoting discovery, disseminating knowledge, cultivating minds, and nurturing the human spirit. We are very grateful to the Brooklyn Home For Aged Men. Their wonderful gift, and the challenge endowment match from the U.S. Department of Education, will help us further fulfill our mission.”
The College of Staten Island, one of the 11 senior colleges of The City University of New York (CUNY), is committed to both affordable access and excellence. This double commitment is especially critical given CSI’s status as the only public college on Staten Island. While the college’s tuition is very reasonable at $2,000 for an undergraduate semester, many full- and part-time CSI students are working in their fields and/or raising families. Seventy-eight percent of CSI students work to put themselves through college. Forty percent are working 20 hours per week or more.
