Naming Opportunities

The United States is experiencing a significant nursing shortage, which is projected to continue through 2030. There is an urgent need for high quality nurses prepared to address today’s complex patient care challenges. Adequate staffing with college-educated nurses is strongly associated with better quality of care and improved patient outcomes. The UConn School of Nursing, joined by the visionary Elisabeth C. DeLuca Foundation, is committed to addressing this critical shortage in Connecticut and beyond.
The new School of Nursing building will feature flexible spaces for innovative learning opportunities including large lecture halls, cutting-edge simulation labs, nursing research facilities, and makerspace, and will maximize resources to support holistic student success. More information about the new facility—and how it will transform nursing education—can be found below. Opening is anticipated for fall of 2026.
Providing an exceptional education and preparing students for the workforce is a leading priority for the University. UConn’s nursing students will graduate ready to provide high quality patient care and serve as collaborative leaders who will shape the future of the nursing profession.
We encourage you to explore this site to learn more about the new School of Nursing facility and opportunities for you to join our efforts. Please contact Jennifer Cooper at jcooper@foundation.uconn.edu for more information.
Return to the School of Nursing.
Average square feet: 13,406
Number of opportunities: 1
The 13,406-square-foot, state-of-the-art Nursing Simulation Center is an immersive learning experience for UConn nursing students. This realistic environment featuring high-tech simulation lab space will uniquely prepare our students to care for patients in a wide variety of clinical and home health settings.
The center features a health assessment lab, two skills labs, eight simulation rooms, a home healthcare suite, nine simulation debriefing rooms, and a virtual reality simulation room. Equipped with the latest technology in clinical simulation, the Nursing Simulation Center provides a safe learning environment for nursing students to experience patient care using innovative, experiential learning strategies.
The simulation learning center helps students develop essential skills and competencies that prepare them to transition successfully into the nursing workforce.
Average square feet: 5,312
Number of opportunities: 1
This state-of-the-art Nursing Research Center, located on the 5th floor, is dedicated to advancing nursing
science to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals, families, and communities. The center is designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and cutting-edge research and serve as a training facility for nursing graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and researchers. It provides hands-on experience in both biological and behavioral research techniques. The center will include a biobehavioral lab, exercise lab and sleep lab facilities, and flexible research workspaces. It also features cutting-edge video conferencing technology for interdisciplinary collaboration with other healthcare institutions and research centers. The center will be equipped with the latest research tools to support innovative and rigorous nursing science and inform evidence-based practices, improve patient care and health outcomes, and shape health policy.
Average square feet: 1,300
Number of opportunities: 1
The Makerspace will serve as a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration and be among the most innovative nursing spaces in the northeast region. With cutting-edge equipment and technology, this space will inspire students to brainstorm solutions to patient care problems facing nurses today. Here, UConn’s nursing students will have the tools to take their concepts from ideation to creation.
Average square feet: 2,150
Number of opportunities: 1
Located centrally in the building, the Student Commons will provide students a space to come together to relax and build a sense of community. Whether participating in group learning, relaxing with classmates, or connecting with faculty, the Student Commons will facilitate a sense of belonging among members of the UConn nursing community.
Average square feet: 2,376
Number of opportunities: 1
The Biobehavioral Research Lab (BBL) provides new avenues for UConn faculty and students to explore symptom science, using state-of-the-art technology to further their understanding of the intersections of biology and behavior. The BBL resources will support faculty and student research, using biobehavioral measures and physiological, genetic, and genomic approaches.
The behavioral research space includes private rooms for study recruitment procedures, individual testing, observation areas, and an open area for group activities or simulations, ensuring that the lab can accommodate a wide range of study designs and research needs. The wet lab will be amply equipped to support biological sample processing, storage, and analysis, including an Ella Automated immunoassay System: a QIAcube robot for DNA and/or RNA extraction; and a biorepository.
The BBL lab serves as an essential research facility for UConn Storrs, available for students, faculty, and the local community.
Average square feet: 2,076
Number of opportunities: 1
Located on the 5th floor of the building, the Dean’s Office Suite is a prestigious and functional space that will serve as the executive office space for the School of Nursing’s administrators and academic leaders.
This suite will honor all the past deans who have led the school for over 80 years. This area will provide a professional and collaborative atmosphere with ample space for meetings, private discussions, and administrative work. It is a central hub where faculty and staff can meet with academic leaders to discuss critical matters relating to the educational, service, and research mission of the school. With floor-to-ceiling windows and a large conference room with advanced videoconferencing and presentation equipment, this space will be the primary location to develop strategy and build collaboration among all members of the UConn Nursing Community
Average square feet: 2,688
Number of opportunities: 1
The Large Classroom is a flexible space that allows for flipped classrooms and enhanced learning, with mobile furniture to allow for different learning and teaching configurations.
Average square feet: 1,078
Number of opportunities: 1
Home of the Office of Student Success, the Student Services Suite will serve as a one-stop shop for students to meet with advisors, admissions officers, and enrollment specialists. This space will serve as a location for current and prospective students and their families to have all their questions about the UConn School of Nursing answered. Our professional and welcoming staff will be available to provide the most successful support and guidance to our future nurses.
Average square feet: 1,425
Number of opportunities: 2
In the Skills Labs, nursing students will have hands-on learning experiences to equip them with basic nursing skills. Here, students will learn how to give an injection, take a patient’s blood pressure, administer medication, and more, and practice these skills on simulation manikins.
Average square feet: 1,443
Number of opportunities: 1
Connected to the Simulation Suite is the Health Assessment Lab, used by both undergraduate and graduate nursing students to enhance assessment skills. The undergraduate level focuses on foundational skills while the graduate level builds on the basics with advanced skills and clinical reasoning needed for higher level practice and competency development. Set up like clinical offices, they will offer a space to focus on learning physical assessment skills as part of the routine patient evaluation including health history, physical exam, and patient interactions.
Average square feet: 1,232
Number of opportunities: 4
The Small Classroom is a flexible space that allows for flipped classrooms and enhanced learning, with mobile furniture to allow for different learning and teaching configurations.
Average square feet: 750
Number of opportunities: 1
The Student Lounge will serve as a welcoming and relaxing space for students to come together to debrief and socialize with their peers between classes and simulation. The lounge will be equipped with comfortable seating and mobile tables for gathering.
Average square feet: 500
Number of opportunities: 1
The Student Multi-Purpose Room will be a flexible space dedicated to student programming, such as workshops, yoga classes, or other student functions. It will be connected to the Student Lounge by a folding partition, enabling larger functions when needed.
Average square feet: 432
Number of opportunities: 1
The Virtual Reality Simulation Room will expose nursing students to immersive clinical simulations using high-tech virtual reality. Through this innovative simulation, students will experience a variety of scenarios and settings, such as an emergency room or patient home, that they will encounter as practitioners. The Virtual Reality Simulation Room will present real-life clinical scenarios where students can practice communication, compassion and other essential aspects of patient care.
Average square feet: 450
Number of opportunities: 1
The Home Care Simulation Room will provide a dedicated space that reflects what nurses typically encounter in a home care situation, including bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette, laundry, and other areas. This room will be an essential tool to prepare students for careers in a home health care environment.
Average square feet: 300
Number of opportunities: 1
Located on the 5th floor in the Dean’s Suite, the Conference Room offers an exceptional space designed for high-level meetings, presentations, and strategic discussions. With its natural design and state-of-the-art technology, this meeting space provides an excellent opportunity for university administrators, corporate leaders, and professionals seeking a functional yet sophisticated conference environment.
The conference room offers a private, professional setting that is ideal for confidential discussions, presentations, and meetings with external partners. Its location ensures minimal distractions, thereby promoting focus and productivity
Average square feet: 670
Number of opportunities: 1
Located on the 5th floor in the Nursing Research Center, the Exercise Lab is designed to support nursing research, education, and practice related to physical activity, health, and wellness. Offering an ideal setting for hands-on training, clinical evaluations, and scientific studies, this lab fosters interdisciplinary research and collaboration in an immersive environment to apply theoretical concepts to real-world applications, including physical activity assessment, exercise interventions, health promotion, and disease prevention.
This innovative space serves as a valuable resource for advancing nursing science focused on understanding and addressing the vital connection between physical activity and the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities.
Average square feet: 225
Number of opportunities: 8
State-of-the-art Flexible Simulation Rooms provide high fidelity simulation spaces in a realistic looking clinical setting, giving students the opportunity to practice what they learn in the Skills Labs. The equipment will be adaptable to allow the space to be set up to mimic different patient care scenarios, such as maternity, pediatrics, or acute care.
Average square feet: 176
Number of opportunities: 4
Study Rooms provide quiet spaces for students to study individually or meet in various sized groups.
Average square feet: 200
Number of opportunities: 9
Located adjacent to the simulation rooms, the Pre/Debrief Rooms will be clinical learning spaces in which students come together before and after clinical simulation to reflect on their learning. Students will also be able to observe simulation rooms from the Pre/Debrief Rooms.
Average square feet: 150
Number of opportunities: 1
Complete with soft seating and casual furnishings, the Meditation/Reflection Room is a small, quiet space to allow students to reflect and observe their beliefs.
Average square feet: 200
Number of opportunities: 2
The Sleep Lab, strategically located on the 5th floor in the Nursing Research Center, is a cutting-edge, multifunctional space that supports both the clinical and educational needs of nursing students and faculty. With its advanced technology, comfortable patient environment, and emphasis on hands-on learning and research, the Sleep Lab is an essential resource for advancing the study of sleep health, improving patient care, and educating the next generation of healthcare professionals in sleep health.
The sleep lab will be equipped with research devices, including pulse oximeters, and CPAP machines, advanced polysomnography systems to monitor brain activity, muscle tone, eye movement, heart rate, and respiratory patterns, and electroencephalogram systems used to track brain wave patterns during sleep.
Beyond clinical research and nursing education, the lab will be used to promote sleep health through wellness programs and outreach activities, targeting student populations, staff, and the local community.
Average square feet: 90
Number of opportunities: 47
Well-equipped Faculty Offices offer dedicated space for faculty members to work and meet with students.
Naming Opportunities printable PDF
Questions?
Jennifer Cooper
Director of Development, Nursing
(959) 995-2636