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History
At the request
of Palestine leaders, The University of Texas at Tyler extended
a nursing program to Palestine in 1995. The University of Texas
at Tyler Palestine Campus officially opened with 20 students enrolled
in the undergraduate nursing program, which was located in borrowed
space in the Trinity Valley Medical Center and Trinity Valley Community
College. In the fall of 1996, the program outgrew that space and,
with the financial support of the Palestine community, relocated
to a former sewing factory at its present site, 1820 West Spring
Street. The Palestine community funded the renovation of two classrooms
and a nursing skills lab, and by 1997, the College of Business Administration
and the College of Liberal Arts joined the successful nursing program.
The campus
again experienced growing pains in 1999, then State Representative
Todd Staples assisted by winning approval of a special line item
in the state budget. The Palestine site was then purchased and the
second stage of renovations began with two additional classrooms
and a computer lab.
Later this
same year, Dr. Lee Roy Mathis, Memorial Hospital Foundation Board
Chairman, presented a check for nursing scholarships in the amount
of $1.2 million dollars.
The year 2002
brought completed renovations to the Palestine Campus and a growing
enrollment. With a healthy endowed scholarship fund for area students,
an excellent library, health assessment lab, conference room, interactive
video technology classrooms and additional office space, the Palestine
Campus is an important element of The University of Texas at Tyler,
a Rising Star in Higher Education.
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