November 10, 2015 marked a special day for the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at the University of California, Davis. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and leaders from UC Davis were joined by more than 200 guests for the official groundbreaking celebration of Betty Irene Moore Hall, the future home of the school of nursing.
Opening its doors in the fall of 2017, Betty Irene Moore Hall will be the fourth structure in the educational core of the UC Davis Sacramento campus. The 70,000-square-foot, three-story building will feature collaborative learning spaces, state-of-the-art simulation suites and other structural elements designed to foster engagement, active learning and interprofessional teamwork. It will also provide flexible spaces needed to prepare future health professionals in nursing, medicine, health informatics, public health and more. You can take a virtual tour of Betty Irene Moore Hall here.
The groundbreaking celebration included a morning multi-media presentation which highlighted the school’s achievements and vision for the future; special luncheon; and ceremonial turning of the dirt event. Moore Foundation trustees and leadership attended, including founder and chairman of the board Gordon Moore and foundation president Harvey V. Fineberg, both among those invited to make remarks. UC Davis Chancellor Linda P. B. Katechi, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing Dean Heather Young, UC Davis Medical Center CEO Ann Madden Rice, and a host of other special guests attended and participated in the groundbreaking ceremony.
Construction of Betty Irene Moore Hall represents the last installment of a 12-year, $100 million commitment from the foundation to support the school’s goal of national impact on nursing education and practice through its focus on nursing leadership, interprofessional collaboration, and transformative research. The school currently offers four graduate-level degrees through the interprofessional Nursing Science and Health-Care Leadership Graduate Degree Programs. A fifth, which will prepare new nurses at the master’s-degree level, is expected to accept students beginning fall 2016. The school opened in 2010 with 33 students and full enrollment of about 420 students is expected by 2022. Betty Irene Moore Hall will meet that need, as well as fulfill the long-term goals set forth by the foundation and the university.