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The Simmons Family Foundation contributes $500,000 for new
TWU Institute of Health Sciences-Dallas Center
08/15/06
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August 15, 2006
- DALLAS — The Simmons Family Foundation has awarded
$500,000 to Texas Woman’s University for construction
of a new TWU Institute of Health Sciences-Dallas Center.
“Excellent
health care for Texans has been one of The Simmons Family
Foundation’s defining missions,” Lisa Simmons
Epstein, trustee of the foundation, said. “We at the
foundation cannot think of a better way to advance this critical
mission than to support the expansion of TWU’s renowned
nursing program in Dallas. The Simmons Family Foundation is
proud to be a part of TWU’s vision of educating more
nurses and other healthcare professionals in a new state-of-the-art
facility at the Institute of Health Sciences-Dallas Center.”
The Simmons Family
Foundation, established in 2000, is based in Dallas. The foundation
is a support organization funded by Contran Corporation, a
multinational, diversified company engaged in the chemicals,
wire and steel manufacturing, titanium metals, ergonomic products
and hazardous waste management industries. The gift is being
made through The Simmons Family Foundation Advised Fund of
the Dallas Foundation.
The foundation
makes grants in the areas of medical research, health and
human services, including programs targeting high-risk youth
and families, as well as for educational, cultural and civic
improvement programs. Grants totaling $6,697,000 have been
made since 2000.
“The Simmons
family is renowned for its commitment to medical philanthropy,
and TWU is pleased to be a part of the family’s vision
for providing outstanding health care for Texans,” TWU
Chancellor and President Dr. Ann Stuart said.
TWU recently launched
a $32 million fundraising campaign to build a new Institute
of Health Sciences-Dallas Center that will combine TWU’s
current education sites near Parkland and Presbyterian hospitals.
The state-of-the-art facility will be built at the Parkland
location in the heart of Dallas’ renowned Southwestern
Medical District.
The new Institute
of Health Sciences-Dallas Center will create a 143,000-square-foot,
multi-building campus that will be built in two phases so
classes will not be interrupted. Plans include renovation
of the existing education building, construction of a new
50,000-square-foot education building and a 600-car garage.
This will add approximately 17,000 square feet of expanded
program space and allow for future growth.
Groundbreaking
is planned for 2008, with the new center scheduled to open
in 2010.
“For more
than 40 years, TWU has provided quality nursing and healthcare
education in Dallas,” Dr. Stuart said. “When you
combine TWU’s seven consecutive semesters of enrollment
growth with the national shortage of quality healthcare providers,
the reason for the new Institute of Health Sciences-Dallas
Center becomes clear.”
Joining The Simmons
Family Foundation as initial campaign donors are the Robson
Communities, the Gaston Episcopal Hospital Foundation, the
Thompson & Knight Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Jere W. Thompson,
Mrs. Orien Woolf and the Abe Zale Foundation.
TWU’s presence
in Dallas began in 1954 through an agreement with Parkland
Memorial Hospital that called for TWU nursing students to
obtain their clinical training at Parkland. This model prevailed
until 1966, when a $2 million, two-story educational building
and a seven-story dormitory for nursing students opened at
Parkland. Health science students began training at Presbyterian
Hospital in Dallas in 1974, and the university opened its
Dallas-Presbyterian campus in 1977.
In 1992, TWU established
The Stroke Center-Dallas at the Parkland campus, which partners
TWU and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
faculty to provide cutting-edge treatment and training in
neurological rehabilitation for stroke patients.
For more information
on the new Institute of Health Sciences-Dallas Center, visit
www.twu.edu/dallascampus.
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For Further
Information Contact:
Amanda McKeen Simpson
Director of News and Information
Tel: (940) 898-3456
e-mail: asimpson1@twu.edu |
