History of the School of Nursing

In 1965, the State Board of Education requested each university in the system to investigate the need to establish a school of nursing. At that time the State Board of Education was proposing that each state college be authorized to establish a two-year associate degree program in nursing. However, in 1965 in the Upper Cumberland Region, clinical facilities were inadequate to support a school of nursing. By 1973, clinical facilities had improved, and Tennessee Technological University began to plan for a school of nursing. As the result of a feasibility study that identified a need for nurse manpower in middle Tennessee, the State Board of Regents made a commitment to support a new baccalaureate school of nursing if federal funding could be obtained.

Tennessee Technological University received a three-year Special Projects Grant from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and the Tennessee Technological University's School of Nursing admitted its first class of students to the junior level nursing, fall 1980. The first Bachelor of Science degrees in nursing were awarded June 1982.

In 2004 TTU joined a collaborative project with the other five TBR universities in Tennessee to develop an MSN program. This program is fully accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission and has been well received with admissions far exceeding expectations.

A building project has been initiated to house the ever-growing demand for nurses. The School will occupy the new 65,500 square foot state-of-the-art structure in the Fall of 2008.