Columbia College (CC) has dedicated the Barbara Bilger family nursing program at Federal Hall in downtown Columbia.
Columbia College president Dr. Toby Arquette tells 939 the Eagle that it’s one of the largest gifts in Columbia College history. CC senior nursing student Madeline Gomez thanks Ms. Bilger and praises Columbia College’s nursing program. She grew up in rural northeast Missouri’s Monroe City and tells 939 the Eagle that she’s not an extrovert:
“And so having the smaller learning environment … your professors actually get to know you. And when you have questions they’ll sit down and take time to help you with anything that you need,” she says.
Ms. Bilger is a 1962 CC graduate. Columbia College says her transformational gift will create an endowed fund that supports the growth and long-term success of the nursing program and funds numerous scholarships.
Columbia Chamber of Commerce ambassadors joined Columbia College (CC) officials for Thursday’s dedication of the Barbara Bilger family nursing program. The college says Ms. Bilger made one of the most significant philanthropic investments in school history in memory of her parents Albert and Marjorie. Columbia College president Dr. Toby Arquette tells 939 the Eagle that the gift reminds us why nurses matter:
“Nurses provide an important not only scientifically informed approach to medical care. But they provide a compassion, a dimension of patient centeredness that Barbara really believed it,” President Arquette says.
Columbia College says the gift will create an endowed fund that supports the long-term success of the nursing program and funds scholarships for nursing students, students impacted by ME/CFS, first-generation college students and others. Ms. Bilger has lived with ME/CFS for more than four decades. It’s a complex chronic illness.