Left to right: Grant Walker with BancorpSouth; Dr. Tommy King, WCU President; Dr. Alicia Lundstrom, Dean of Nursing; Dr. Janet Williams, Associate Vice-President for Health Programs; Chris Robinson with Albert & Robinson Architects; William K. Ray, WCU Board of Trustees Chairman; James (Hal) McMahon with Mac’s Construction Company.
William Carey University held a ribbon cutting for a new building on its Hattiesburg Campus on July 30. This new building will be the home of the William K. Ray College of Health Sciences.
“I’m so emotional right now with pride and joy,” said Dr. Janet Williams, WCU Associate Vice-President for Health Programs.
“This is a huge day for us, for healthcare in our region, and for the 26 states from which we draw students. As we have grown and grown, we have found innovative ways to use our space to handle the extra students.”
For decades, WCU’s nursing school has enjoyed a reputation for producing highly-skilled graduates in demand by hospitals and clinics throughout the Southeast. Physical therapy, health information management, and health administration and education programs came next. By 2018, the WCU School of Pharmacy had opened at the Tradition campus and a WCU nursing school accepted its first students at Baton Rouge General.
“We’re very excited. This is another step in the growth of William Carey, to serve, not only Hattiesburg, but the surrounding community, and this is a state-of-the-art building,” said WCU President Tommy King.
WCU broke ground on the 67,000 square-foot facility on Feb. 28, 2020. The WCU programs housed in the new facility include nursing, physical therapy, health Information management, and health administration and education. The new building includes state-of-the-art simulation labs, student lounges, classrooms, and offices.
The WCU College of Osteopathic Medicine – in need of more classroom and laboratory space for what will soon be a total enrollment of 800 students – will have access to the buildings vacated by the College of Health Sciences. These include Fail-Asbury Hall, Mary Ross Hall and Thomas Hall. All three buildings are in close proximity to the present College of Osteopathic Medicine, allowing for the creation of a medical school complex at WCU’s Hattiesburg campus.
