Left to right: USF Crown Point student Taylor Conn, USF President Rev. Dr. Eric Albert Zimmer, USF Director of Planned Giving Sister Marilyn Oliver, U.S. Rep Frank Mrvan, USF Crown Point student Simona Branoska, USF Crown Point Dean Dr. Marsha King, Tonn & Blank Construction President & CEO Jon Gilmore, USF Crown Point student Lauren Bartley
CROWN POINT, Ind. – Faculty, staff and students gathered at the University of Saint Francis Crown Point today to commemorate the opening of the site’s expansion with a ribbon cutting on the first day of fall semester classes.
USF President Rev. Dr. Eric Albert Zimmer and USF Crown Point Dean Dr. Marsha King shared their enthusiasm for expansion and the benefits it will bring to students and the healthcare community.
“We are conscious of the Lord blessing all the hard work that has been put into this building. This building will allow time together to understand how better to learn, how better to come together, and how better to help God’s children in healthcare,” Fr. Zimmer said.
After the ribbon cutting, USF Chaplain Rev. John R. Sheehan, SJ, gave the blessing of the building.
The ribbon cutting celebrated the $7 million expansion project, which doubled the size of the facility. USF Crown Point expects a subsequent doubling in enrollment in the coming years. New programs at the site this fall include Surgical Technology, Radiologic Technology, Diagnostic Medical Sonography and Advanced Medical Imaging. These fields have been identified as highly in demand in northwest Indiana.
“University of Saint Francis Crown Point is set apart because of our Franciscan values that we incorporate in our classrooms. These values are instilled in our students, and it shows in how we treat each other and our patients, and the love and care that we put into our healthcare programs,” Dr. King said.
The USF Crown Point site expansion came to fruition through a partnership with Franciscan Alliance, a grant from the Lilly Endowment and generous donations from USF Crown Point supporters.
For more information on USF Crown Point, please visit crownpoint.sf.edu.
University of Saint Francis Crown Point is a regional site of the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Ind., a private Catholic university in the Franciscan tradition. USF Crown Point makes academic excellence and a values-based education available to Northwest Indiana-area students. Among its programs are many healthcare-related majors, including nursing, surgical technology, radiologic technology and medical laboratory technician. The associate of liberal studies degree includes student-designed concentrations.