New College of Nursing building to be named Driscoll Hall

Villanova, PA, June 4, 2008 — The Rev. Peter Donohue, OSA, President of Villanova University made the following announcement today to the campus community regarding the naming of the new College of Nursing building which opens summer 2008:

“At its meeting yesterday, The Villanova University Board of Trustees approved the naming of the new College of Nursing building in honor of the Rev. John M. Driscoll, O.S.A. ’48 A&S. I am pleased to report that when it moves to its new home this summer, the College of Nursing will be located in Driscoll Hall.

Father Driscoll served from 1975 to 1988 as the 30th president of Villanova. During his presidency, Father Driscoll led a period of tremendous growth and advancement at the University. The purchase of land extended the borders of campus, new dormitories were constructed, and both the Connelly Center and the Pavilion were completed. That same period saw an increase in the University’s academic reputation as the student body grew more select and geographically diverse, the academic curriculum more innovating and challenging, and the faculty more distinguished – characteristics that continue to distinguish Villanova today as one of the nation’s leading Catholic universities.

Father Driscoll had a significant impact on, and special connection to, the College of Nursing. As vice president for Academic Affairs at Villanova, a role he served from 1965 until assuming the presidency, he facilitated the College’s move to St. Mary’s Hall. As President, he appointed M. Louise Fitzpatrick the third Dean of the College and presided over the approval and accreditation of the Masters Program in Nursing, the founding of The Nursing Alumni Society, the awarding of Villanova’s first Presidential Scholarship to a nursing student, and the awarding of the first College of Nursing Medallion.

Prior to coming to Villanova in 1965, Father Driscoll served in many capacities at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, including philosophy teacher, vice president and dean, religious superior of Our Mother of Good Counsel Monastery, and as member of the college’s board of trustees. After stepping down as president of Villanova in 1988, Father Driscoll went back to Merrimack College where he was assigned as Prior of its Augustinian community. In 1995, Father Driscoll returned to the Saint Thomas Monastery here on campus where he continues to reside.

Driscoll Hall will provide the College with a first-class educational facility in the heart of campus that will serve as an inspirational setting for our nursing students, faculty, and staff. Please join me in congratulating Father Driscoll and the College of Nursing on this worthy tribute. Father Driscoll’s accomplishments as an alumnus, as a president, and as an Augustinian are worthy of this honor and I am pleased that Villanova is able to recognize him in this way.”

The $32 million, 75,500 sq. ft., state-of-the-art facility will open in support of the education of the next generation of nurses, demonstrating the University’s commitment to nursing education as part of its institutional and social mission.

The College, a National League for Nursing Center of Excellence in Nursing Education, enjoys a reputation across the country and the globe for its superior programs and graduates. This new building will support its initiatives including student learning in technology-driven clinical simulation labs and enhance an environment for teaching and scholarship. It will provide an atmosphere that stimulates advancing the future of nursing. Additionally, this environmentally-friendly building will provide space for University events.