UAH College of Nursing receives $100K gift from Bryant Bank

A group of people stand in front of a large check.
Emma Banks, UAH Lancer; Dr. Charles L. Karr, UAH President; Ken Watson, Bryant Bank President; Dr. Karen Frith, UAH Dean of the College of Nursing; Mallie Hale, UAH Vice President for University Advancement and Executive Director of UAH Foundation; Dr. Helen Lien, UAH Senior Development Officer; Maggie Maxime, UAH Lancer.
Michael Mercier | UAH

The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of The University of Alabama System, has announced Bryant Bank has made a gift of $100,000 to the UAH College of Nursing (CON) for this year. This current disbursement to the College represents an annual gift as part of a total pledge of $3 million over 30 years. Bryant Bank’s continuing commitment to UAH nursing goes to support a nursing scholarship plan called Early Promotion into UAH Nursing Program (EPNP).

“The Bryant Bank Scholarship makes it possible for undergraduate nursing students to attend the UAH CON, a program that prepares professional nurses to care for individuals in the greater Huntsville area and beyond,” says Dr. Karen Frith, Dean of the UAH CON. “When students receive this scholarship, they get a very high-quality education and peace of mind about the cost of attending college. We continue to be grateful to Bryant Bank for its commitment to the UAH CON and annual gifts to support each new freshman class that begins at UAH and declares nursing as a major.”

Established in 2014, EPNP is an honors program offered by the College of Nursing to highly qualified students who enter UAH as freshmen and declare nursing as their major. Through this program they may take all the lower division nursing coursework on the UAH campus and are guaranteed placement in upper division nursing courses. EPNP provides students an opportunity to have enriched freshman and sophomore years in the UAH Honors College in preparation for admittance into upper division nursing coursework.

“Since we announced this $3 million financial commitment to UAH’s College of Nursing, it has been very gratifying to follow the significant impact these resources have made on the College of Nursing, its students, faculty and healthcare community,” says Ken Watson, Bryant Bank Huntsville Market President. “We are proud to have the opportunity to continue our support for the EPNP, College of Nursing and UAH.”

About Bryant Bank: Founded in 2005 by Paul W. Bryant, Jr., Bryant Bank’s vision is to see every Alabamian experience a financially stable future and live in a thriving community. Bryant Bankers put care into action to help Alabamians invest in their full potential every day. The Bank offers 16 branches and one loan production office in five of Alabama’s six largest markets and employs over 260 bankers. Bryant Bank provides personal, business, and mortgage banking services, as well as Treasury Management Services, Correspondent Banking, and Capital Markets.

About the UAH College of Nursing: The CON is a National League of Nursing (NLN) Center of Excellence in Nursing Education and dedicated to educating and inspiring individuals to become nurse leaders who act with integrity, discover through scientific methods, and advocate for the best health care experiences of people and communities in a complex and evolving health care environment. It boasts the highest NCLEX pass rate in the state of Alabama in 2021. 71% of the accomplished faculty are doctorally prepared with an additional 29% of faculty currently enrolled in doctoral programs. The faculty also includes two of Alabama’s eight fellows of the American Academy of Nursing. The CON offers multiple pathways to a BSN for traditional and non-traditional students, graduate degrees (MSN, DNP, and PhD), and certificate programs.