Hundreds tour new building at Wallace State

HANCEVILLE, Ala. — Former students who toured the new School of Nursing and Center for Science at Wallace State Community College were somewhat jealous as they walked through the new facilities Tuesday during a ribbon cutting and open house of the facility. The impressive simulation center, larger classrooms, lecture halls and labs, as well as enclosed study areas — some with whiteboards as the walls students can use to map out their lessons — were things some only dreamed of.
“It really is a dream long overdue, finally come true,” Wallace State President Dr. Vicki Karolewics said during the ceremony prior to the ribbon cutting for the building.
“The School of Nursing reflects our desire to continue to produce the most highly qualified and competent nursing graduates in the nation,” Karolewics said. “Our goal is to continue to be the school of choice for employment of nursing graduates.”
Karolewics reported the licensure rates for 2012 graduates far exceeded the national average and that Wallace State graduates out-performed all but two of 16 four-year university nursing students who sat for the same exam.
Karolewics expressed her thanks to local and state officials and to CRMC President Jim Weidner, for the hospital’s donation of hospital beds as CRMC upgraded equipment through the CRMC Refresh a Room Campaign. She also announced that WSCC and CRMC are currently negotiating an agreement for the simulation center and fundamentals labs to serve as an evacuation site for the hospital should it ever be needed.
Dr. Mark Heinrich, Chancellor of the Alabama Community College System, congratulated Karolewics and all of Wallace State’s faculty and staff on the new facility.
“The quote that comes to mind on this day for me… is one from Walt Disney,” Heinrich said. “If you can dream it, you can do it, and that’s exactly what’s happened here.”
Sen. Paul Bussman said everyone in the room and the community will at some point benefit from the efforts put forth by Wallace State to educate and train nurses and medical professionals. “Everyone in this room will need the services they are learning about today,” he said. “And everyone of us will be appreciative that they have state-of-the-art equipment, state-of-the-art faculty and state-of-the-art facilities in which to do that. That gives me a tremendous comfort that when the day comes and I need care, that care will be there and it’s going to be the best care we can get anywhere in the United States.”
Paul Housel, representing Congressman Robert Aderholt, said he is hesitant in telling his mother — a former nursing instructor — about Wallace State’s new facilities, fearing she would be a little jealous. “As a biology major myself, it almost makes me want to go back to school,” he said.
“The School of Nursing and Center for Science here is something else,” said Dr. Charles Elliot, District 6 representative for the Alabama State Board of Education and a practicing anesthesiologist. “It’s really a remarkable facility and I really think it will be a tremendous tool to develop the next generation of nurses. But you know as well as I do that this building’s success depends completely on the dedication of its faculty and staff.”
Rep. Mac Buttram said he was amazed by the new facilities. “My jaw dropped when I went back to the simulation center,” he said. “It’s a credit to the leadership in the health science field here, and to the leadership of the county and the leadership we have in the Chancellor’s office.”
“This is a true asset not only to the city of Hanceville and Cullman County, but also to city of Cullman and we support it whole heartedly,” said Cullman Mayor Max Townson, who compared Wallace State to the Hope Diamond.
“Education makes dreams come true and that is what Wallace State is doing for all the students here,” he said.
Other speakers included Hanceville Mayor Kenneth Nail and Rep. Randall Shedd, who presented a resolution from the Alabama Legislature recognizing the success of Wallace State Community College.