WINCHESTER, Va. — Shenandoah University is prepared to launch a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) program within the Eleanor Wade Custer School of Nursing thanks to a generous gift from longtime supporters Kathleen and William “Billy” Quarles.
The Kathleen Quarles Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Program, which will launch in 2028, will train highly skilled advanced practice nurses to fill a critical need in health care.
Shenandoah celebrated the gift announcement on April 22, in the Pruitt Health & Life Sciences Building. The university’s Board of Trustees presented a resolution of appreciation to Billy and Kathleen Quarles ’82, ’13 during its meeting on April 23.
“This visionary gift marks a transformative milestone for our School of Nursing and the future of health care in our region,” said Lisa Levinson, Ph.D., RN, dean of the Eleanor Wade Custer School of Nursing. “We are profoundly grateful to Kathleen and Billy Quarles for providing the essential foundation to launch our certified registered nurse anesthetist program. They’re doing more than funding a curriculum – they are directly addressing a critical shortage in specialized anesthesia care.”
Dr. Levinson added that the country is experiencing a shortage of qualified anesthesia providers.
“We have an opportunity now to contribute to that workforce, and we couldn’t be more excited to do that, to take on this challenge,” Levinson said. “We are so well situated right now to do so, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect for us.”
Shenandoah University President Tracy Fitzsimmons, Ph.D., speaking to a celebratory April 22 crowd that included nursing faculty and students, called the Quarles’ contribution to the new CRNA program the “perfect gift.”
The Quarles family has supported Shenandoah University for over 30 years. Kathleen Quarles’ connection to Shenandoah began in the 1980s, when she pursued her nursing degree and later advanced her education through the university’s family nurse practitioner graduate program. She later served with distinction as a respected and beloved assistant professor of nursing at Shenandoah for over 20 years, and is a former member of both the alumni board and nursing advisory board at SU. Kathleen Quarles joined Shenandoah University’s Board of Trustees on April 23.
Kathleen and Billy Quarles have generously contributed to the growth and vitality of Shenandoah University’s campus, including their support of “The Q,” one of the five residential buildings in The Village, and the establishment of the Gladys T. Quarles Nursing Scholarship Fund for Advanced Practice to provide financial assistance to Shenandoah nursing students. The family has also supported numerous university initiatives, including athletic programs, the annual fund, library fund, campus landscaping, and the construction of the Pruitt Health & Life Sciences Building, the primary home of the Eleanor Wade Custer School of Nursing.
“Nursing is not just a profession. It is really a calling of compassion, of service and the care of others,” Kathleen Quarles said. “I believe this nurse anesthetist program will make a huge, meaningful difference to the university, to the community, and to the growing needs of the profession. I’m glad to contribute – and Billy is with me on this – because it’s a huge vision, and it really touches my heart to be able to educate, to inspire and to empower nurses. I will always be a nursing advocate, no matter what. I used to say it’s the most important career there is because you touch so many people in so many different ways. It’s an exciting time.”
Shenandoah University’s Eleanor Wade Custer School of Nursing includes a Bachelor of Science in nursing program, as well as Transfer BSN and Accelerated Second-Degree BSN tracks; Master of Science in nursing degrees in family nurse practitioner, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, and nurse-midwifery; a Doctor of Nursing Practice; and graduate certificates in nurse-midwifery, family nurse practitioner, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, nurse-midwifery initiative, and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner initiative.
Information from a release. Posted by Dan McDermott.
