Students and faculty from Curry College Division of Nursing and 21 other Massachusetts colleges and universities with schools of nursing gathered at the Massachusetts State House on May 12, 2009 to rally for level funding of the Nursing Initiative in the state budget.
Due to a shortage of nursing faculty, all colleges are turning away qualified nursing students at a time when there is a severe nursing shortage across the country. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, over 40,000 qualified applicants were denied admission to nursing schools nationwide in 2007.
Lt. Governor Tim Murray spoke at the rally and said, ”The Governor and I recognize the need for more nursing faculty and that is why we level funded the Nursing Initiative in our budget. Although money is tight this year, we know that a lot more needs to be done to erase this nursing shortage. The more nurses who have advanced degrees, the more effective and efficient will be patient care, and Massachusetts will become a model for the rest 
of the nation.”
Faculty from Curry included, Chairperson Dr. Linda Caldwell, Dr. Linda Tenofsky, Dr. Susan LaRocco, Dr. Susan James and Kathleen Santo. About ten undergraduate students and the entire class of the MSN students also attended. The graduate students also spent time with educating their legislators on the need for more incentives to attract nursing faculty to our schools.
And although the rallying has concluded, the message has been received loud and clear at the State House.