SIU file photo
August 02, 2022
Media Advisory – SIU’s first accelerated nursing class graduates to be pinned
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s very first group of accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing students is poised to graduate, and reporters, photographers and news crews are invited to cover the pinning ceremony at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4.
It will be held in the John C. Guyon Auditorium at Morris Library. Jennifer Harre, Southern Illinois Healthcare chief nursing officer, will be the guest speaker for the ceremony during which 16 students will receive their pins, signifying successful completion of the accelerated BSN program.
To address the need for highly trained nurses, SIU launched its Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in 2019, featuring three tracks: the traditional four-year bachelor’s degree, the RN to BSN degree-completion program and the accelerated BSN program.
The accelerated program offers an intense, concentrated format for students who already have a bachelor’s degree or a significant number of hours toward a degree, and it covers the advanced skills typically taught in a three-year period in just a year. Many of the graduates have already received job offers in the Southern Illinois region.
For more information about the ceremony or the program, contact Kelli Whittington, SIU assistant professor and nursing program director in the School of Health Sciences, at kellid@siu.edu.