Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
This campus expansion ensures future healthcare leaders will be as prepared as they can be to holistically care for their community.
See local news coverage of the grand opening here.
* * *
By Micah Mertes
On Wednesday, October 30, the Creighton University Health Sciences Campus – Phoenix hosted the grand opening of the recently completed sixth floor, dedicated to the academic success, well-being and spiritual growth of its students.
With investments from The Norton Foundation and the State of Arizona, the Virginia G. Piper Health Sciences Building has completed its sixth floor, making way for The Norton Foundation Success Center, a hub of support providing a more seamless and meaningful experience for Creighton students.
The space also contains The Norton Foundation Classroom and The Norton Foundation Center for Counseling Services.
“We know that positive academic outcomes are closely aligned with access to resources that surround and care for the whole student,” said the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, president of Creighton University. “Obtaining both public and private support for a comprehensive approach to student formation and well-being demonstrates a strong commitment to improving healthcare in Arizona. This campus expansion ensures future healthcare leaders will be as prepared as they can be to holistically care for their community.”
In the Success Center, students in the College of Nursing, School of Medicine, School of Pharmacy and Health Professions and the physician assistant program can also utilize accessibility services, resources for student formation and belonging, academic success consultants and learning specialists.
“From their first day on campus through the end of their programs, all students have access to The Norton Foundation Success Center,” said Greg Lapriore, academic success coordinator for the College of Nursing in Phoenix. “The dedicated staff of the center can assist them in such areas as studying, notetaking, time management, exam preparation and more.”
The center’s purpose is to foster growth among the students in every area — educational, professional and personal.
“It’s a comprehensive, collaborative space that really demonstrates Creighton’s commitment to student success in all its forms,” said Jennifer Peter, PsyD, director of Student Counseling Services.
As with Creighton’s Phoenix campus itself, Peter said, The Norton Foundation Success Center’s own success depends on all the pieces working in unison. While The Norton Foundation Classroom offers students a prime new space for learning, The Norton Foundation Center for Counseling Services provides a safe, confidential space for students who need support amid the demands of their intensive programs.
“The Norton Foundation Success Center is a huge step in managing the complete wellness of students,” Peter said. “It recognizes that each student is a complex individual with a lot of different components to them, beyond academics and even beyond mental health. This is a space where our students can develop as whole persons.”
Creighton’s Phoenix campus is not a traditional one. Students, faculty and staff from three different schools or colleges share a single building. This offers unique opportunities for collaboration.
“One of the most beautiful things about our students is that they really want that collaboration with their peers in different programs,” said Valeria García Lara, associate director of Student Formation and Belonging. “They want to engage in interprofessional activities. They want to learn from each other and make each other better.”
The Norton Foundation Success Center and its many components, García Lara said, will create more opportunities for the growth and formation that only come from true connection.
Some of the students who utilize The Norton Foundation Success Center are themselves Norton Scholars, high-achieving students who have received a scholarship to attend Creighton’s medical school and College of Nursing in Phoenix.
The scholarship was established in 2012 by Doris Norton, who passed away in 2021, through the St. Joseph’s Foundation. In so doing, Doris and her late husband, John, created a legacy of giving that shaped, and continues to shape, healthcare education in the Southwest.
“The Doris Norton Scholarship Endowment Fund was established to support the remarkably talented students of Creighton University,” said Cheryl Oliver, Norton Foundation president. “The Norton Foundation is pleased to continue Doris’ vision with the addition of the Success Center, which we hope will be utilized as a valuable resource to these future healthcare professionals.”
“The Doris Norton Scholarship Endowment Fund was established to support the remarkably talented students of Creighton University,” said Cheryl Oliver, Norton Foundation President. “The Norton Foundation is pleased to continue Doris’ vision with the addition of the Success Center, which we hope will be utilized as a valuable resource to these future healthcare professionals.”
Future physicians like Gregory Devine, Class of 2025 School of Medicine student and Norton Scholar.
“My medical school experience has been defined by camaraderie with my classmates and service to the Phoenix community,” Devine said. “By supporting Creighton students, The Norton Foundation is developing compassionate and competent physicians. It’s investing in a better tomorrow, and we are so grateful.”
Recent medical school graduate Zachary Creech said the Norton Scholarship had “an enormous impact on my medical education that has contributed to my growth as a future physician.
“With the new Success Center now on campus, I’m confident that The Norton Foundation will continue to impact generations of Creighton-trained healthcare professionals for many years to come.”
