Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) announced today that the University of Sioux Falls will receive a $399,980 federal grant from the Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutions Program. The funding will be used to develop curricula and provide instructional resources for their new nursing degree ladder program.
"This funding will enhance the University of Sioux Fall’s academic offerings and help address the current nursing shortage in South Dakota,” Johnson said. "A key part of my Hometown Prosperity Plan is investing in the public good, and this funding is a wonderful example of that kind of investment.”
The Department of Labor estimates that there will be a need for 1 million additional nurses by 2016. With a growing population, an aging nursing workforce, and a declining number of nursing school graduates, the Health Resources and Services Administration estimates South Dakota will experience a 9 percent nursing shortage in 2015 and a 23 percent shortage by 2020.
The Strengthening Institutions Program provides colleges with the funding necessary to enhance curricula and improve their academic quality.
Senator Johnson's Hometown Prosperity Plan is a four-pillar agenda for advancing South Dakota's economy from the federal level. The four pillars, or strategies, include "Promoting Partnerships," "Emphasizing Entrepreneurship," "Investing in the Public Good," and "Protecting Pocketbooks." The full plan includes specific actions related to each strategy and can be downloaded from http://johnson.senate.gov.
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For more information on Senator Tim Johnson visit his website at http://johnson.senate.gov.
To contact Senator Johnson’s communications office via e-mail, write his Communications Director at Julianne_Fisher@Johnson.Senate.gov or his Deputy Communications Director at Megan_Smith@Johnson.Senate.gov
