Former Harley-Davidson chief executive officer and president James Ziemer and his wife, Yvonne, have donated $1 million to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College of Nursing. Intended to strengthen UWM’s ability to fill a growing nursing shortage in Wisconsin, the gift will fund a clinical simulation center on the university’s Kenwood Campus, which is home to Wisconsin’s largest nursing program.
The James and Yvonne Ziemer Clinical Simulation Center will enable the college to increase its in-demand training programs by up to 30 percent, providing UWM nursing students with state-of-the-art experiential learning in simulated clinical settings.
UWM chancellor Mark Mone called the Ziemers’ gift “transformational,” both for UWM and the region.
“The new James and Yvonne Ziemer Clinical Simulation Center will be a place for innovative clinical learning, not only for our nursing students, but for students from our College of Health Sciences and from many other UWM Schools and Colleges,” Mone said. “Integrated professional development at the cutting edge of interdisciplinary learning will be made possible here.”
“We are so grateful to the Ziemers for their vision and extraordinary generosity,” added Sally Lundeen, dean of the College of Nursing. “Their gift in support of the simulation center assures us that our College of Nursing will remain among the top nursing education programs in the country for many years to come and will provide the cornerstone for innovative interprofessional health education and research.”
Named after James Ziemer, a three-time UWM alumnus, and his wife, the center will provide a “real world” environment for teaching, learning and research where students are trained in patient care through use of models, manikins, medical equipment and living patients.
“This gift expresses our hope that our children, and our grandchildren, and all families within our community, will have access to the highest quality nursing care,” the Ziemers said in a joint statement. “We know that UWM has outstanding students and faculty, and they need our support to expand their capacity to meet the workforce needs of the future.”
