Liz Mantych, assistant teaching professor of nursing at UMSL, welcomes Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon before he announced Friday that the College of Nursing received a $150,000 grant from the state.

Surrounded by a crowd of nursing students, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced Friday a $150,000 grant for the College of Nursing at the University Missouri–St. Louis. The money will mean 32 more students will be admitted to the undergraduate program in 2012. Nixon praised UMSL’s “robust and professional nursing program,” and said the university had received one of the top grants.

“By allowing us to hire more nursing faculty, this grant will help us prepare an ever-increasing supply of nurses in Missouri,” Chancellor Tom George said. “We want to thank the governor for his support of medical and health science education and the Missouri State Board of Nursing, which funded the grant program.”

Sandy Lindquist, interim dean of the College of Nursing, said that the Nursing Education Incentive Program will add one faculty member in the undergraduate program and will also lay the groundwork to expand the college’s graduate program in the future.

The grant will provide scholarships or traineeships for faculty development allowing master’s level nursing faculty to complete work toward a doctoral degree.

“This is a great opportunity for the College of Nursing and for nursing education throughout the state,” Lindquist said.