December 13, 2007, ST. LOUIS - The Barnes-Jewish College of Nursing will be renamed the Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College. The new building in which it will reside will be named Goldfarb Hall to honor St. Louis businessperson and philanthropist Alvin Goldfarb, who has pledged $5 million to the college. The new building will open in January 2008 and the $5 million endowment will support nursing scholarships and programs.
The gift will help bring specialized education to a broader student body and will help support the advanced nursing education needed to care for patients with the latest technology. Nursing scholarships are vital as the nation faces a shortage of nurses expected to reach one million by 2012, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"Our community is a better place because of Alvin Goldfarb''s commitment to education, clinical excellence and compassionate care," says S. Lee Kling, Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation board chair and chairman of the college campaign. "His farsighted investment is a defining moment in our efforts to create a world-class center of nursing education. We are honored to affiliate our college with someone of his character, high standards and vision."
"Mr. Goldfarb has made an outstanding commitment to nursing education that will benefit our community for years to come," says Andy Ziskind, MD, president of Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "I am pleased Mr. Goldfarb''s leadership and dedication to nursing excellence will provide resources to advance Barnes-Jewish College into one of the top -10 nursing programs in the nation."
Alvin Goldfarb graduated in 1937 from Washington University in St. Louis to work in his father''s St. Louis-based garment-manufacturing business. In 1940, he founded Worths stores, offering moderately priced women''s apparel as women increasingly entered the workforce. Goldfarb and his late wife Jeanette have been generous donors to a variety of St. Louis institutions, with a special emphasis on education.
Goldfarb''s motivation in giving to the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation in support of the school of nursing is twofold. "I have an interest in supporting higher education because it improves our entire community and profoundly impacts the people that benefit from scholarships and programs," says Goldfarb. "Nursing education is vital in addressing the shortage of RNs and nurses today need the most advanced level of education to work in top facilities like Barnes-Jewish Hospital."
"Mr. Goldfarb has a history of supporting higher education and believes nursing education is vital to the future of the American health care delivery system," says Michael Evans, PhD, RN, the Maxine Clark and Bob Fox Professor and Dean of the college. "He was extremely impressed with the educational excellence the school has to offer, the hallmark of which is that students have the most advanced resources to learn the science of nursing as well as the compassionate care that embodies the art of nursing."
Goldfarb''s gift caps a $20 million campaign launched by the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation to transform the college. Half of the funds raised augmented a contribution from BJC HealthCare to construct the college building, and the other half will endow or directly fund scholarships, professorships, research and program development.