Saint Vincent College to build Rhodora and John Donahue Hall to house nursing program

LATROBE, PA - Saint Vincent College is pleased to announce its plan to build Rhodora and John Donahue Hall, a state-of-the-art facility that will be the on-campus home of the Department of Nursing program which encompasses the pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program and the graduate-level Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) program.

The three-story building will be located on the west side of campus, near the Sis and Herman Dupré Science Pavilion. Donahue Hall will feature a nursing skills lab, a virtual reality suite, simulation labs, a telehealth suite, home health/hospital-at-home space, conference rooms and flexible classrooms to support the distinctive elements of the nursing curriculum. Immersive learning and simulation experiences will allow for collaboration among undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty and local healthcare providers.

Construction is scheduled to begin in February 2025 and is expected to be completed in April 2026.

"This facility will serve as the hub of innovation and excellence in healthcare education at Saint Vincent College, providing our students with cutting-edge resources and a dynamic learning environment," said Father Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B, president of Saint Vincent College. "This investment underscores our commitment to advancing healthcare education and enhancing the quality of care in our community. Our graduates, classically trained in the liberal arts and the Benedictine tradition, will bring discernment, values, ethics and critical thinking to their responsibility as nurses for the lives and care of their patients. We are especially grateful to our generous donors for their financial support."

The project's anticipated cost is $16 million. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has authorized a $3 million grant from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP). Funding also will be provided from three donors who desire specifically to advance nursing education at Saint Vincent College: J. Christopher Donahue and his wife, Ann Carey Donahue; the DSF Charitable Foundation; and the Richard King Mellon Foundation.

Donahue Hall will be the nerve center of Saint Vincent's BSN program, which will admit its first students in the fall of 2024. The embedded education spaces are an important bridge between learning and application in the real world. The facility will enhance the recruitment and retention of students in nursing majors, particularly those from underprivileged and underrepresented populations, and will enhance the quality of healthcare throughout southwestern Pennsylvania and beyond.

Saint Vincent's BSN program, part of the Herbert W. Boyer School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computing, is expected to enroll a cohort of 24 undergraduates in its first year. Pennsylvania is expected to need 160,380 new registered nurses (RNs) by 2030. The BSN program is designed to address that shortage by graduating practice-ready, baccalaureate-prepared RNs whose academic education includes the tenets of Benedictine teachings.

About our donors

• Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) - Financial assistance has been provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Honorable Josh Shapiro, Governor, through the RACP. The RACP helps with the design, acquisition, and construction of a regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects throughout the state.

• J. Christopher and Ann Carey Donahue - Mr. Donahue is the former chair of the Saint Vincent College Board of Directors and has served as director, president and CEO of Pittsburgh-based investment manager Federated Hermes. To mark the Donahues' generous gift, the facility will be named in honor of Mr. Donahue's parents.

• DSF Charitable Foundation - The charitable-giving organization of the David Scaife family, the DSF Charitable Foundation seeks to promote excellence in health, human services and education in southwestern Pennsylvania. To highlight the Foundation's generous gift to Donahue Hall, the building's first floor will be named the David Scaife Family Center for Excellence and Innovation in Nursing.

• Richard King Mellon Foundation - Since its founding in 1947, the Richard King Mellon Foundation has awarded more than 8,000 grants to nearly 2,000 organizations. The Foundation has six funding programs: health and well-being, economic mobility, conservation, economic development, organizational effectiveness and social-impact investments.

ATTACHMENT 1: Digital rendering of Rhodora and John Donahue Hall

ATTACHMENT 2: Digital rendering of aerial view of Rhodora and John Donahue Hall (foreground) on the west side of the Saint Vincent College campus