School Of Nursing Established At William Paterson University For Upcoming Year

WAYNE, NJ — Amid a growing number of nursing students and a need for public health professionals, William Paterson University announced it is establishing a school of nursing for the fall 2023 semester.

William Paterson University has had a nursing program since 1966, and will establish its School of Nursing within the College of Science and Health. University officials said that there has been growing interest in nursing degrees on the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels, citing a "significant need" for healthcare professionals and an increased demand for flexible courses at advanced degree levels.

Since 2019, the university said that undergraduate nursing enrollment has more than doubled, going from 431 students to 1,058 students. Graduate enrollment has tripled in that time period as well, rising from 190 to 713 students.

Close to 550 new nurses graduated from William Paterson between 2019 and 2022, contributing to the workforce amid a looming nursing shortage in the state.

William Paterson offered its first doctoral program, the doctor of nursing practice degree, in 2010.

The founding associate dean for the School of Nursing will be Dr. Minerva Salinas Guttman, EdD, RN, APN. Guttman brings more than five decades' worth of experience in nursing, both regionally and internationally, said William Paterson. She spent more than two decades at Farleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck as director of the Henry P. Becton School of Nursing and Allied Health, the university said.

The School of Nursing will be housed in University Hall, and nursing facilities include six patient simulation laboratories as part of the Nel Bolger, RN laboratories, including control and debriefing rooms to provide enhanced clinical training; and three state-of-the-art nursing basic skills labs.