Officials with the University of Nebraska Medical Center say it's clearly the latter.
Med center officials recently began seeking applicants for the director of a planned nursing college in Norfolk. Using donated funds, an advertisement was placed in The Chronicle of Higher Education last month for an assistant dean to run the Norfolk school.
"This is nothing more than an initial testing of the waters. We're very pleased with the interest that has been shown," said a spokesman for the med center in Omaha.
The $12 million or so needed to build the nursing school on the Northeast Community College campus in Norfolk has almost been entirely raised through a fundraising campaign. What's still unknown is whether state senators will approve a state appropriation yet this legislative session for operating funds.
If they do, the college could open as planned by fall 2010. And if that occurs, it means a considerable amount of work would need to be done before that time, including the hiring of faculty.
That's where an assistant dean would come into play.
Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk, speaker of the Legislature, said the nursing college is on a short timeline. "There's little room for error if the Legislature approves the funding," he said.
Virginia Tilden, dean of the NU College of Nursing, said those who reply to the ad are being told that the Legislature hasn't yet appropriated the money for faculty and administrative positions.
Tilden said there is a shortage of nursing faculty, and it is challenging to recruit faculty to a rural corner of a rural state.
"This is a key position,' she said. "You don't wait for the doors to open.'
Norfolk officials agreed to raise all the money to build the school, while university officials agreed to seek $2.2 million over the next two years to staff and operate the school, which is designed to address a shortage of trained nurses in Northeast and North Central Nebraska.
The Appropriations Committee did not include money for the school in its preliminary recommendations five weeks ago, though the state budget is not expected to be final until late May.
The med center spokesman said that if operating funds are approved by the Legislature, Northeast and the med center wanted to be in a position to move forward as expediently as possible.
"We just thought this would be a prudent thing to do so that we can be ready to move forward if funds are appropriated," the spokesman said.
