A dispute between Hardin-Simmons University and McMurry University — both located in Abilene, Texas — over the future of a shared nursing school has been resolved, according to a joint news release.
Hardin-Simmons, a Baptist school, will establish its own nursing program by 2025, and McMurry, a Methodist school, will retain the Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing name and acquire its assets for its own nursing program.
McMurry had filed a $1 million lawsuit against Hardin-Simmons, claiming a breach of contract regarding the School of Nursing. McMurry said Hardin-Simmons failed to honor a contract to sell its interests in the nursing school to McMurry.
The Nov. 16 statement said the universities had resolved “prior misunderstandings.”
The dispute was among a litany of concerns cited by Hardin-Simmons faculty in a recent vote no confidence in President Eric Bruntmyer.
As a result of the agreement, Abilene — a city of 125,000 people — will have two schools of nursing
“With today’s agreement, the two universities are able to move forward with independent programs that will increase the number of nurses in the Big Country and beyond,” Bruntmyer said. “HSU is excited to create a new nursing program delivered on campus and integrated with the rest of the university.”
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