SMCC receives $500K gift to expand nursing education
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Southern Maine Community College, whose South Portland campus is shown here, will use $500,000 donated by the Boyne family to expand nursing education, the school announced on Friday.
Southern Maine Community College said Friday that it has received a $500,000 donation to expand training for nursing students and help address the statewide nursing shortage.
The gift, from John and Candy Boyne of Freeport, will be used to establish an endowed fund dedicated to a nursing faculty position to be named the Boyne Family Endowed Nursing Faculty. The donation was made official at a signing ceremony Thursday in a nursing classroom in the College’s Health Science Center.
SMCC’s nursing program, which currently has about 200 students, prepares people to become registered nurses upon graduation.
Michael Nozdrovicky, who chairs SMCC’s nursing program, said Maine desperately needs more nurses amid an aging workforce and rising demand for health care services rises due to the state’s aging population overall.
The Maine Department of Labor has projected that there will be a shortage of 3,200 registered nurses in Maine in 2025.
"The nursing program is grateful for the continued support of the Boyne Family," Nozdrovicky said. "Their gift comes at a time when the demand for nurses has never been greater. As Maine faces a projected shortfall of thousands of nurses in the years ahead, it is imperative that we expand our training opportunities for people to become nurses. This gift allows us to do just that."
The Boynes have a long history of supporting health care education at SMCC and other educational institutions, and donations from the family have helped the SMCC Foundation provide scholarships to nursing students since 2010.
In 2016, the Boyne Foundation donated more than $500,000 to the SMCC Foundation to establish an endowed scholarship fund to benefit students enrolled in SMCC’s nursing program.
"SMCC and the entire Maine Community College System play a major role in Maine in training our young people to qualify for meaningful careers and to hopefully remain in our state," John Boyne said in Friday's news release. "We hope that our gift will inspire others to consider contributing to the SMCC Foundation when planning their philanthropic donations."
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