President Lou Hencken laid out the University’s plans to fund extended hours in Booth Library and add a nursing program to the university.

“It is my belief that universities need to be leaders in anticipating the needs of society. There is a tremendous nursing shortage in this country. Downstate Illinois and rural communities will suffer more than larger cities,” said Hencken. “Therefore, I am asking the Provost [Lord] to study the feasibility of offering a nursing program at Eastern. I believe the need is such that the Illinois Board of Higher Education would be very receptive to granting additional dollars to support such a program,” said Hencken. Eastern, with no rescission in their budget, will have money for additional projects.

“We are adding additional dollars in Dean Lanham’s budget to be able to keep the library open an extra five hours per week, until 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, beginning the Tuesday after Labor Day.

Hencken also spoke about the university receiving $3.86 million in fund raising last year.