Stephens College, an educational institution for women in Columbia, Missouri, has announced it has received approval to accept students into its new nursing degree program that will begin this fall. Stephens College and Boone Hospital Center, a 392-bed, full-service hospital located in Columbia, Missouri, are cooperating in the new program. The bachelor’s degree program is designed to be completed in three years including two summers of study.
“We’re excited to be able to start introducing future nursing professionals to the Stephens College program this fall,” said Noreen Houck, founding director of nursing at Stephens College. “Our inaugural class will join a program focused on providing students with clinical and patient experiences starting in their first year. Through our relationship with Boone Hospital Center, the program will provide the full spectrum of public health and hospital experiences. This will ensure our students will graduate well prepared and highly motivated to make a difference immediately in our local communities.”
Dr. Houck was appointed to the faculty at Stephen College in 2019. Previously, she was an associate professor and chair of the nursing department at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. Dr. Houck is a graduate of Villanova University in Pennsylvania, where she majored in nursing. She holds a master’s degree in nursing from Syracuse Univerity in New York and a Ph.D. from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
Stephens College enrolls about 550 women in undergraduate programs and 200 students in its co-educational graduate programs, according to the latest data supplied to the U.S. Department of Education.