For over a year now, the sights and sounds of construction at Mars Hill University have created a sense of building excitement, as two new buildings have taken shape that will forever change the face of the campus, and broaden the offerings available to its students.
On Friday, September 9, the university will dedicate Troy and Pauline Day Hall and Ferguson Health Sciences Center, home of the Judge-McRae School of Nursing. The public is invited to attend.
- The dedication for Day Hall, located on the corner of Main Street and College Street in Mars Hill, will be at 10 a.m.
- The dedication for Ferguson Health Sciences, located on the corner of Highway 213 (Cascade Street) and Dormitory Drive, will take place at 1 p.m.
Troy and Pauline Day Hall is the home of the Mars Hill University business program, which continues to be the institution’s largest department. It is named for major donors Troy Day ’48 and his wife Pauline, of Kannapolis, NC.
At three stories and over 39,000 square feet, the structure has space devoted to retail enterprises including the MHU Bookstore and a café, in addition to classrooms, laboratories and faculty office space. The building also features a “black box” theatre and enhanced accessibility to Owen Theatre.
A new Master of Management program is planned for implementation at Mars Hill in fall 2017, and will be housed in the building.
Ferguson Health Sciences Center, at three stories and over 28,000 square feet, is the new home of the Judge-McRae School of Nursing. This fall, the first class of 25 junior nursing students have entered MHU’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. The university’s Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN) program began in May 2015 at the Asheville Center for Adult and Graduate Studies (AGS) in south Asheville. The programs have received approval from the North Carolina Board of Nursing and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
Ferguson Health Sciences Center is named for Jack and Carolyn Ferguson of Candler, North Carolina. The Judge-McRae School of Nursing is named for Norman ’84 and Rev. Linda Judge-McRae ’86, of Knoxville, TN.
Both the Day building and the Ferguson building have been constructed using low-interest loans from the United States Department of Agriculture, in addition to gifts from alumni and friends of the university.
According to President Dan Lunsford, the completion of Troy and Pauline Day Hall and Ferguson Health Sciences is the visible manifestation of the long-time dreams of many people who love Mars Hill University.
“Decades ago, there were trustees and other leaders of the institution who hoped that there could be a modern home for the business department, which has consistently produced one of the highest enrollment majors for the institution. Others dreamed that Mars Hill could launch a nursing program that would graduate nurses with bachelor’s degrees to serve the medical needs of our regional community,” Lunsford said. “Today, due to the support of trustees and donors, and the hard work of faculty and staff, those dreams are reality. We are thankful and we look forward to helping students achieve their dreams and goals, now and into the future.”
For more information, please visit mhu.edu
