January 04, 2023
FORT WAYNE — Trine University has received a pledge of $300,000 from the Edward M. & Mary McCrea Wilson Foundation toward its Trine University Fort Wayne project, opening in 2024.
The 110,000-square-foot academic and training facility in Fort Wayne, located near Parkview Regional Medical Center, will house programs in Trine’s College of Health Professions.
“The Wilson Foundation has been a strong supporter of health sciences programming at Trine University, and we are grateful for their continued partnership as we work together to equip students with the skills needed to serve this region’s healthcare needs,” said Earl D. Brooks II, Ph.D., Trine University president. “The generosity of the Wilson Foundation and other donors benefits the entire northeast Indiana region, providing professionals who will keep us healthy and who will settle in this area, boosting the economy as well as our quality of life.”
Trine has already raised more half of the project’s estimated $40 million cost.
In 2019, the Wilson Foundation granted $200,000 to Trine University toward the expansion of its health sciences programs in Fort Wayne.
The Trine University Fort Wayne campus, developed in close partnership with Parkview Health, will employ 100 faculty and staff and serve nearly 700 students in Trine’s College of Health Professions (CHP), which currently includes its physical therapy, physician assistant, nursing and surgical technology programs. The new space will allow CHP to add new programs including occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, medical science and emergency medical sciences.
In addition to state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories, the new facility will feature, in partnership with the Parkview Mirro Center, an innovative Simulated Patient Care Center (SimCenter) including mock surgery and Emergency Room suites and exam and patient rooms. The building also will contain ample resources for student support, including a library, bookstore, gathering area, academic support and counseling services.
Trine University’s first Associate of Science and Master of Science in nursing graduates, along with physician assistant and surgical technology graduates, received a welcome to the healthcare field from the leader of Cameron Health, herself a longtime nurse, during the university’s fall Commencement on Dec. 12.
Trine University’s Thunder Therapy Clinic, which provides pro-bono rehabilitation services to those in the Fort Wayne area with limited means, will offer occupational therapy beginning in January.
Six Trine University civil engineering seniors and two faculty members toured a cement plant and the Newburgh Lock and Dam, learned about the Ohio River Crossing project and traveled to bridge construction sites during a senior trip in November.