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Myrtle E. and Earl E. Walker Hall to Open in Early 2015

By September 27, 2013January 14th, 2022No Comments

9/27/13

New Home for School of Health Professions:

Maryville University to Break Ground for Myrtle E. and Earl E. Walker Hall

St. Louis —  Maryville University broke ground for Myrtle E. and Earl E. Walker Hall the new home for Maryville’s College of Health Professions on Sept. 28 as part of Alumni Weekend festivities.

A generous gift from St. Louis philanthropists Myrtle E. and the late Earl E. Walker paved the way for the $20 million building that will include state-of-the-art facilities for the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders, classrooms, meeting spaces, laboratories, offices and a planned speech clinic for adults.

“We are very appreciative to Myrtle and Earl Walker and the entire Walker family for the vision and generosity that made this possible,” said Maryville University President Mark Lombardi. “Maryville’s culture of excellence will be reflected in the building and all of the opportunities it will provide to our students as they prepare to meet the evolving health care needs of our community and our nation.”

Chuck Gulas, dean of Maryville’s College of Health Professions, said the new facility is key to providing students with access to best practices in the rapidly changing field of health care. “Walker Hall, a state-of-the-art building, will enable us to fulfill our mission to educate competent, caring and compassionate practitioners, the next generation of health care professionals,” he said. “For the first time we will have the opportunity for our students to observe and provide services through the Walker Scottish Rite clinic and the Center of Community Outreach.”

Sheri Mistretta, executive director of the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders clinic said, “The Walker Scottish Rite Clinic is so very appreciative to Myrtle and Earl Walker for their gift and to Maryville University for creating this vision of dynamic collaboration between health care services and education. Walker Hall will bring together, under one roof, health care professionals, students and families, working toward common goals of life-altering care.”

When it opens in spring 2015, the 70,000-square-foot building will double the space Maryville has for programs in the College of Health Professions. It will be located on the east of the campus quad on the site formerly occupied by Duchesne Hall. (Maryville tore down Duchesne, a 50-year-old residence hall, this summer to make way for the new building.)

Walker Hall will be Maryville’s first LEED silver certified building and general contractor Paric construction of St. Louis is working closely with the University to incorporate a variety of sustainable practices in the demolition and construction process including recycling materials from Duchesne and incorporating solar energy panels into the new building’s design.

Maryville’s  College of Health Professions includes nationally recognized programs in nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, rehabilitation services, rehabilitation counseling, and music therapy and new programs in communication science and disorders and speech language pathology.

The School’s programs enjoy a national reputation for excellence and Maryville’s new online graduate nursing degrees, launched in May 2012, already enroll more than 1,200 students.

As the U.S. population ages, demand continues to increase for nurses and other health care professionals. Myrtle E. and Earl E. Walker Hall will provide students with a learning environment that will evolve with breakthroughs in treatments and technology.

Media Contact

Janet Edwards, Editorial Content Specialist, Marketing and Community Relations, 314-529-9347 (office), jedwards@maryville.edu, 314-249-7982 (cell).

 

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