Illinois State University’s Mennonite College of Nursing (MCN) will be celebrating 100 Years of Excellence during the 2018-19 academic year. A kickoff event will take place from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, August 28, in the Hancock Stadium Club.

Keynote speaker Jeffrey Bauer will present Creating Futures & Preparing Professionals: The Next 100 Years at MCN, followed by a question-and-answer session. Bauer is a health futurist and medical economist with over 40 years of experience in teaching and consulting. He has written more than 275 articles and books about health care delivery. Bauer currently focuses on improving the medical marketplace, along with helping health care leaders develop strategies for more effective health care. Registration is required to attend this event, as seating is limited.

“We are thrilled to launch our year-long celebration of Mennonite College of Nursing’s 100th anniversary with this event. Dr. Bauer comes to us with an extraordinary depth of knowledge regarding the future of healthcare. As we commemorate a century of educating exceptional nurse professionals, we are eager to hear Dr. Bauer’s thoughts about where the next 100 years will take us,” said Judy Neubrander, dean of Mennonite College of Nursing. “We will continue our celebration this fall and next spring with several events, culminating with a Centennial Gala event on May 4, 2019, at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Bloomington.”

The Mennonite Sanitarium Association, from which the Mennonite Sanitarium Training School was born, was founded on January 23, 1919, and the school’s first commencement took place in 1922 with 15 graduates. In May of 2018, more than 200 students from the undergraduate and graduate programs received their degrees.

MCN became Illinois State University’s sixth academic college on July 1, 1999. During the past 20 years, the college has increased its undergraduate enrollment, added two sequences to the master’s program, and created a doctoral program that includes a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing and an online Doctor of Nursing Practice, as well as an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing option. MCN has maintained important traditions from its rich past of being a former private college, while transforming into an innovative, future-oriented program at Illinois State.

Those interested in attending may register online, or contact Director of Events Amy Irving at (309) 438-7418.