(SDSU/IV School of Nursing receives a donation)...Carolyn and Cliff Colwell have donated $500,000 to the Nursing School.

They said the funds were to be used to help address the critical nursing shortage in the region and its ripple effects on health disparities. The Colwells both have careers in medicine. San Diego State University Imperial Valley says the donation will benefit students enrolled in the school's Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Sciences in Nursing Program. The five year donation is unrestricted, an unusual feature for an amount so high. It means SDSU/IV can use it to meet the needs of the program. The first 10 students of an accelerated pre-licensure program will graduate in August. The Colwells met while studying at the University of Michigan School of Medicine in 1959. They established their gift after a visit to Imperial Valley last year led by University Relations and Development and the College of Health and Human Services.