Nursing School Director Endows Scholarship For WCU’s New Master’s Degree Program
Western Carolina University announced that Terry Durbin, associate professor and director of the School of Nursing in WCU’s College of Health and Human Science, and her husband Steve made a $25,000 commitment to create the Durbin Endowed Scholarship for Rural Health. The Durbin Endowment supports scholarships to students in WCU’s new Master’s Entry Program in Nursing, which is designed to prepare graduates with a strong foundation in nursing practice and leadership while meeting the need for nurses across rural Western North Carolina and adjacent areas in Georgia and Tennessee.
“I know firsthand how difficult graduate education can be, both in terms of workload and finances,” Terri Durbin said. “When we launched the new master’s entry program, it was clear to me that students would benefit from having some financial relief as they step into a very demanding professional pathway. Endowing a scholarship felt like a way to invest directly in their success.”
Durbin has been a member of WCU’s faculty since August 2021. She is a certified registered nurse anesthetist, nurse educator and cultural studies scholar focused reducing health disparities, promoting culturally responsive education and strengthening rural health workforce across Appalachia. Western Carolina University’s new program for nurses allows students with a bachelor’s degree in other disciplines to enter the nursing profession at the graduate program. The program has a rigorous curriculum that incorporates clinical preparation, leadership development, and rural health perspectives.
The program is designed to prepare graduate-entry nurses who can thrive in the rural and regional health systems that are the backbone of Western North Carolina. We aim to prepare graduates who understand rural issues and possess the skills to enhance health in rural communities. By focusing the scholarship here, we’re aligning student support with the real workforce needs of our area,” said Durbin. “Communities across our region often face shortages of health care providers, particularly nurses. Increasing the number of well-prepared, practice-ready nurses means more patients can access care closer to home. It also strengthens rural hospitals and clinics, which depend on a steady pipeline of qualified professionals to remain viable.”
Recipients of scholarships made possible by the Durbin Endowment must be enrolled in WCU’s Master’s Entry Program in Nursing, with preference given to students residing in the rural Appalachian region in the following counties of North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee:
North Carolina: Avery, Buncombe, Cherokee, Graham, Clay, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga and Yancey counties.
Georgia: Franklin, Habersham, Rabun, Stephens and Towns counties.
Tennessee: Blount, Cocke, Monroe, Polk and Sevier counties.
“I see this scholarship as one piece of a larger picture – supporting students, sustaining the nursing workforce and building healthier communities across our region,” Terri Durbin said. “I would encourage others to think about giving not just as a financial act, but as a way of shaping the future we want for our students and neighbors.”
Establishment of the Durbin Endowed Scholarship for Rural Health comes as WCU is in the midst of the public phase of its “Fill the Western Sky” comprehensive fundraising campaign, an effort to raise a minimum of $100 million for the university’s academic, student engagement and athletics programs. For more information or to make a contribution to the campaign, visit WesternSky.wcu.edu, call 828-227-7124 or email advancement@wcu.edu.
