Nursing Simulation Center named in honor of former CIU first lady

As former Columbia International University President Dr. Johnny Miller entered the Simulation Center on a tour of the CIU School of Nursing, a wry smile came over his face as he checked out the Center’s new name plate next to the Simulation Center’s door. Then he waited for the reaction from his wife Jeanne as she read the name plate:

Jeanne Miller

Nursing Simulation Center

Tears came to the eyes of the former nurse who was surrounded by other family members, nursing students, and CIU staff and administrators who were in on the surprise of the Center’s new name.

“I was in shock,” Mrs. Miller said afterward. “I didn’t know it would be there.”

Dr. Miller, CIU’s fourth president from 1991-1999, honored his wife with the naming, noting her eight years of nursing during their early years of marriage when she served in hospital intensive care units in Arizona, Illinois and Texas.

The Millers were amazed at the technology of the Simulation Center as Nursing School Dean Dr. Jill McElheny and her staff demonstrated how the Center’s manikins “react” to various medical conditions with human-type responses. But more importantly for Mrs. Miller, she is grateful that, like other CIU programs, nursing is taught from a biblical worldview.

“I am so thrilled that the school (of Nursing) is a part of CIU and the nursing students are getting it from a Christian perspective,” the former CIU first lady said.  

CIU Interim President Dr. Rick Christman was also on hand to offer a prayer of dedication:

“We take this moment to honor Jeanne and to recognize her service as a nurse, for years of service in ministry alongside her husband, and Dr. Johnny as he gave so many critical years here at CIU and beyond. We thank you for their lives. May it be a representation of what we want our students to be in this (nursing) program … as they are going to be alongside the beds of so many people who are going to need you in presence, if not even in word.”

Mrs. Miller was also presented with a professional nursing pin by McElheny, a pin given to RNs who graduate from the CIU program.

Check out the CIU nursing program and apply now or request information on enrollment by contacting Admissions at (803) 807-5024 or admissions@ciu.edu.

CIU is celebrating 100 years of its mission to “educate people from a biblical worldview to impact the nations with the message of Christ.” The university consistently ranks among the Top Regional Universities in the South by U.S. News & World Report, as well as a Best Value Regional University in the South.