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Simmons College Receives $2 Million Gift for Nursing Program

Phyllis and George Dotson Establish Fund for Enhancing Student Nurse Training

BOSTON (July 22, 2008) — Simmons College has received a $2 million gift from a nursing program alumna and her husband to enhance the nursing program of the Simmons School of Health Sciences.

The gift funds the establishment of the Phyllis Nickerson Dotson and George S. Dotson Fund for Academic Excellence, which annually will offer 10 to 40 nursing students academic support, networking and mentoring from Simmons nursing faculty and a cadre of multi-disciplinary experts from New England. Phyllis Dotson is a 1962 graduate of the Simmons College nursing program.

The fund also will enhance the technology infrastructure of the Simmons nursing laboratory, providing state-of-the-art simulation in the clinical portion of the nursing program. Graduates of the nationally accredited Simmons nursing program have exceptionally high pass rates on the nursing certification exams, and are placed in key nursing posts around the nation.

Simmons College President Helen Drinan said the Dotsons' gift "will have a powerful impact on the educational experience of our aspiring nurses, and on the healthcare field. There is a critical shortage of nurses, and this generous gift from the Dotsons will assure more access for talented potential nursing students, as well as make an outstanding program even better. We are deeply grateful for their support."

Simmons College is a nationally ranked college in Boston with an undergraduate college for women and graduate programs for women and men in health sciences, library and information science, social work, and the nation's first and oldest MBA program designed for women.