WT Announces Gift, Laura & Joe Street School Of Nursing
During a press conference at the West Texas A&M College and Health Sciences campus in downtown Amarillo, it was announced that the One West comprehensive fundraising campaign received a gift of $2.5 million from Joe and Laura Street.
The gift will name the Laura and Joe Street School of Nursing, which, according to school officials, will be elevated from a department and stay within the WT College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
Among those in attendance for the announcement were Texas Senator, Kevin Sparks, and District 86 Representative, John Smithee.
Laura Street, herself a WT nursing alum, shared her early experiences, including beginning as a physical therapist while musing how she cringed when patients would start crying before she even entered the room, so she opted for a degree as a nursing practitioner. Street also addressed the addition of the new psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner degree program starting this fall, pointing out the country itself is finally discovering the brain is part of the body.
Highlighting how far this WT nursing program has come since started by a handful of students 50 years ago, Dr. Holly Jeffreys shared her excitement and vision moving forward, and how this financial gift will be used for student scholarships and faculty development.
