UVA Wise Honors the Opening of its $16.6 million state-of-the art Nursing Education Facility

Nearly 200 students, faculty and supporters came out Thursday to celebrate the opening of a $16.6 million, high-tech nursing education center at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise (UVA Wise).

University of Virginia President James E. Ryan, UVA Rector Robert D. Hardie and UVA Board of Visitors Member Tom DePasquale joined UVA Wise Chancellor Donna P. Henry at the rededication ceremony of the Don R. Pippin & John C. Wyllie Hall on campus.

Other esteemed guests included Gigi Pippin, F. Scott Pippin, Dr. Joe Frank Smiddy, UVA President-Emeritus John Casteen and Former UVA Wise Chancellor Jay Lemons. Both Virginia U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner provided video messages to the gathering. 

“These improvements will not only expand opportunities for students in healthcare and in nursing, but also will entice more students to choose nursing as a career and will ultimately help to address the nursing shortage and improve health outcomes for patients and families in the region,” Ryan said.

“I extend a heartfelt thanks to all of our employees and the employees of the University of Virginia who have worked diligently to make this dream facility a reality,” Henry said. “I would like to recognize our nursing students who are with us today. You are all now part of this College’s story. Please know we are so proud of you for working to learn without the needed space over your time here. We are thrilled that our seniors are having the opportunity to spend their final days in Pippin-Wyllie Hall.”

Henry also recognized the nursing faculty, staff and the significant contributions of Nancy Haugen, the Kathleen Strunk Endowed Chair of Nursing. 

“Professor Haugen joined UVA Wise as we were getting ready to begin the planning on this facility. She immediately let me know that she would like to discuss the plans. She has been an excellent advocate for our nursing faculty and students and, based on her expertise, we modified the plans and today we are all better for it,” Henry said.

This semester, UVA Wise has 60 pre-licensure program students and 16 RN to bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) students. 

Henry also thanked the Southwest Virginia legislative delegation including Delegate Terry Kilgore, Senator Todd Pillion and others who helped secure the $16.6 million in state funding for the nursing program.

Design architect Clark Nexsen, Hill Studios, Thompson & Litton and Quesenberry’s Construction all contributed to the transformation of the former library into the new facility.

The former College library is now a 28,530 square-foot, state-of-the-art nursing education facility. Nursing students began taking classes in the new building in mid-March.

UVA Wise Nursing Student Sarah Slemp, a senior who is secretary of the Student Nurses Association on campus, said the new building’s increased space was much needed.

“Before the opening of the new facility, I often struggled to find a quiet place to study, as the other areas were dedicated to other programs. Not only do nursing students now have a dedicated place to study and learn, we also have updated equipment and facilities, tailored specifically to nursing education and practice,” Slemp said. “I chose to attend UVA Wise because it allowed me to have a wonderful nursing education, while being able to stay close to my family and enjoy the many aspects of the community that make Wise County home. The new nursing facility will only enhance the already exceptional nursing program here at UVA Wise.”

Slemp added the new space provides room for her and her fellow students to “eat, relax and gather, forming a sense of community.”

Don R. Pippin & John C. Wyllie Hall is aimed at expanding learning opportunities in nursing and improving healthcare across the Southwest Virginia region.

The facility houses upgraded classrooms, three nursing skill labs, two simulation labs, four examination rooms, debriefing rooms, group study rooms and offices. It also features the Campbell S. Edmonds Lecture Hall, the largest classroom. 

Ryan remembered the legacy of the late Don R. Pippin, one of the men for whom the nursing facility is named. 

Pippin, a 1958 graduate of then-Clinch Valley College, a 1960 graduate of UVA and a 1963 graduate of the UVA School of Law  led the effort in the Virginia General Assembly to name the College UVA Wise. Pippin was appointed by then-governor Mark Warner to the UVA Board of Visitors and reappointed by then-governor Tim Kaine. 

“Don was a devoted champion of UVA Wise and one of its greatest ambassadors, securing funding, raising its profile and connecting and engaging alumni,” Ryan said. “He was an advocate for higher education and for investing in communities, and was a friend and counselor to chancellors, presidents, senators and governors. But most of all, he was beloved by all those who knew him, and it is only fitting that his name joins the great John Wyllie’s on this building.”

UVA Wise Chancellor Henry took time to reflect on the impact of the late John C. Wyllie, a UVA 1929 alumnus and the longtime UVA curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts at the University Library. At UVA Wise, Wyllie developed the College’s first library and its fundamental collections structure. 

The new nursing facility is housed in the former library building which opened in 1969 and was originally dedicated to Wyllie. 

“Mr. Wyllie was an incredibly quiet leader who served as the director of libraries at UVA. He is credited for going above and beyond to help stand up the UVA Wise's first official library. Mr. Smiddy used to tell stories about Mr. Wyllie making many trips to Wise to deliver books that he carried in the trunk of his car. It was fitting that this facility carried his name for as long as it was a library,” Henry said. “To the Pippin family, thank you for allowing us to carry Mr. Pippin’s legacy on through Pippin-Wyllie Hall. And, although Mr. Wyllie’s family isn’t represented, we are pleased to continue his legacy of intellectual curiosity here as well. These two gentlemen have left an indelible mark on this remarkable institution.”

While both Pippin and Wyllie had connections to UVA and UVA Wise, it’s unknown whether they knew each other or crossed paths, but they had a lot in common including a love of libraries, said F. Scott Pippin, a UVA School of Law alumnus, former UVA Wise faculty member and son of Don R. Pippin.

“Whether or not Don R. Pippin and John C. Wyllie ever met is lost to history. But I do know this: had they become fully acquainted, they would have become great friends,” Pippin said. “They were united in their love for the printed page. They were united in their love for the Univeristy and for the College at Wise. And now they are united in name here in the College’s former library–how appropriate. This building is new, good and bright and has a noble cause promoting access to quality health care in Southwest Virginia. The rigorous education and the development of nursing skills–all of this will help the College and the region and help the College’s nursing graduates. This building is beautiful. Don R. Pippin and John C. Wyllie would both be very proud.”

Henry also expressed her gratitude for decades of support from the C. Bascom Slemp Foundation.

“In 1998, they provided the support that made it possible for the College to add a wing to this facility. This wing is critical in this new footprint, providing an incredible lecture hall that will serve the needs of our growing nursing program,” Henry said.  “The lecture hall now carries the name of the late Campbell S. Edmonds, a trustee of the C. Bascom Slemp Foundation. We are pleased that Slemp Foundation Executive Director Jim Smith and wife, Kelli, are with us today.”

DePasquale shared the history of the nursing program and how  the building is an example of momentum of the College. The new facility was UVA Wise’s Library from 1969 until mid-2016. 

“I asked to speak today because my service on the Board of Visitors has allowed me to watch as this institution has made huge strides, in confirming its future in education for the Commonwealth and for the region. Wise has moved from what can we do, to look at what we have done,” DePasquale said. 

DePasquale said students who earned the first bachelor of arts degrees in 1970 at the College did research and studied at the former library.

“How fitting that the first nursing students also studied here, with the College awarding the first bachelor of science in nursing in 1996,” DePasquale said. “This new facility is truly remarkable and the students who are here now and those to come in the future will tell stories for decades about their incredible educational experiences here in Pippin-Wyllie Hall.”