Arkansas State University had a big year in 2009 with its centennial celebration and the opening of the Delta Center for Economic Development. But another event is of such magnitude that it stands solely on its own; the opening of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Health Sciences. The new health sciences facility was dedicated during a special ceremony in September. The grant received for the project was the largest ASU has ever received.
ASU received the largest single donation in its history when a charitable gift of $14,508,342 from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation in May 2007. The gift was earmarked for the construction of a three-story health sciences building just northeast of the Student Union to support the College of Nursing and Health Professions.
“There may not be a greater educational need in the country today than educating doctors and nursing and health care providers,” stated Donald W. Reynolds Foundation Chairman Fred W. Smith. “Although this facility was funded through the foundation’s capital grants program, it is also an excellent strategic match with our focus on training health care providers to meet the needs of our aging population. With this new facility, we believe that ASU will be better positioned to help improve the quality of health care for the elderly and for all Arkansans.”
The center is a 50,650-square-foot structure that houses the Speech and Hearing Center, the Beck PRIDE Center for America’s Wounded Veterans, the Department of Communication Disorders, and a nurse anesthesia lab. The center also houses interdisciplinary labs, a community education center, research labs, classrooms, an auditorium, a computer lab, a student lounge, a conference room, group study rooms, a nursing clinical learning lab, health assessment labs, and special project rooms.
Approximately 55 patients are treated each week in the ASU Speech and Hearing Center, and each patient is scheduled for two one-hour appointments per week. Since the Speech and Hearing Center is used as a “hands-on” facility, it provides free services to the campus and the general public. The Reynolds Center is providing wonderful opportunities to expand the number and types of diagnostic and treatment services students and faculty are offering.
The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, the foundation has, since 1994, awarded over $378 million to organizations in Arkansas.
