Jerry and Julie Schuyler Fundamentals Lab to be Dedicated Saturday

On Saturday, September 12, Montana Tech will dedicate a lab in the Nursing Department as the Jerry and Julie Schuyler Fundamentals Lab. The ceremony will take place at 10:00 am outside the Health Sciences Building on campus. The lab is being named after Montana Tech alum, Jerry Schuyler, and wife, Julie. The Schuylers donated $500,000 to the university in 2014, the largest single alumni gift to Montana Tech. They also added to their contribution in 2015. Their donations are being used to support scholarships and university projects along with supporting the nursing department and establishing a Nursing Excellence Endowment.
 
The Jerry and Julie Schuyler Fundamentals Lab enhances the beginning nursing student’s learning of nursing interventions and concepts with the opportunity to practice in a safe and controlled setting. The lab combines the atmosphere of a hospital environment with advanced learning technology. The primary goal of the lab is to support the success of our nursing students as they progress throughout their program.
 
"As a nurse, I understand how all disciplines in the field of nursing are of benefit," said Julie Schuyler. "Many times, the first person you will see in an urgent situation will be a nurse. Quick thinking and assessment skills can be a life saver. This teaching tool of the simulation lab will help to ensure that Montana Tech nursing students are well-educated in diagnostics, assessments and procedures. It is exciting to see Montana Tech is educating more nursing students to help decrease the nursing shortage while continuing to make exemplary nurses."
 
“The donation from the Schuylers will make an important difference in the technology available to current and future students and is more critical than ever to assure excellence in nursing education at Montana Tech,” said Karen Vandaveer, Director of Nursing at Montana Tech.

Jerry is a 1977 Petroleum Engineering graduate from Roberts, Montana. He had a distinguished career in the oil and gas industry. He recently retired from a company he helped start in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is now serving as a board director of two oil and gas companies headquartered in Houston, Texas. Julie is originally from Anaconda, Montana. She graduated from Montana State University with a B.S. in Nursing. She also holds a master’s degree from The American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine of Houston, Texas.

Jerry and his five siblings all graduated from Montana Tech. They recently recognized this unique accomplishment by honoring their parents with the Paul and Betty Schuyler Room within the Frank and Ann Gilmore University Relations Center on the campus of Montana Tech.

“Jerry and Julie understand what it means to be part of the solution,” noted Joe McClafferty, President of the Montana Tech Foundation. “With the demand for nurses, the Jerry and Julie Schuyler Fundamentals Lab will allow Montana Tech’s Nursing Department and its students to help meet the demand. We have all been touched by a nurse—from the moment of birth and throughout the stages of our lives. Jerry and Julie’s support allows our nursing department to be a part of the solution.”