JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Students from Edward Waters University will soon have a pathway to earn a bachelor of science in nursing, or a B.S.N. degree. EWU and the University of Florida College of Nursing entered into an agreement Wednesday that allows up to five Edward Waters students into the program.
Edward Waters University does not have a nursing program, and this partnership will give qualified biological sciences majors an option to pursue a nursing degree at UF’s Jacksonville campus.
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The selected EWU students would take their prerequisite courses at EWU, followed by the rest of the required courses at the UF Health Jacksonville campus.
“As president and on behalf of Florida’s first HBCU, we are tremendously excited to enter this historic and incredibly impactful partnership with the University of Florida’s College of Nursing,” said Edward Waters University President and CEO, A. Zachary Faison Jr., J.D. “We believe that this first-of-its-kind focused academic and health-related collaborative initiative between EWU and UF will operate to positively address our state’s growing need for more nursing and health care professionals overall and support the increasing promulgation of the same, particularly amongst African-Americans and other communities of color.”
“Consistent with our core values of caring, diversity, engagement, excellence in learning and service,this program will provide innovative, high-quality academic nursing programs to meet the growing workforce needs for baccalaureate-prepared nurses in the state of Florida,” Anna M. McDaniel, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN, College of Nursing dean and the Linda Harman Aiken chair said.
This is the first partnership between a historically Black college or university (HBCU) and the UF College of Nursing.
“We’re very pleased to partner with Edward Waters University to provide a pathway for under-represented students to earn a UF nursing degree and enter the nursing profession,” said UF President Kent Fuchs. “Through this shared effort, we will help to improve health care through addressing a critical need for more Black nurses.”