Creighton University’s College of Nursing will receive a $5.2 million boost from the Harper Family Foundation to recruit and train nursing students.

In a press release Monday, Creighton said the “historic” donation for the Harper Scholars Nursing Program will nearly fully cover the tuition costs for a total of 30 nursing students across four graduating classes. Applications for the first round of scholarships, which will cover recipients beginning in the fall 2024 semester, are being accepted.

A Creighton spokesman said the donation will cover $40,000 each year of a student's tuition. He added the typical tuition cost for a Creighton nursing student is about $45,000 per year.

The donation comes as Nebraska faces a shortage of nurses. By 2025, the state will face an estimated shortage of nearly 5,500 nurses, the release said.

The scholarship was named in honor of the late Charles M. “Mike” Harper, who was CEO of ConAgra Foods in the 1970s, and Harper’s wife, Joan F. “Josie” Bruggema Harper. The Mike and Josie Harper Center on Creighton’s campus is named after the couple.

The couple’s daughter, Betsy Murphy, and her husband, Chris, said in the release that the idea for the Harper Scholars stemmed from a conversation they had with the Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, Creighton’s president.

“Our hope is that for nursing students around the country, this scholarship will be the scholarship to go for,” Chris Murphy said.

Close Creighton is set to open Graves Hall soon. The roof has solar panels, seen at the bottom of the photo, and VirtuHOT solar hot water on the roof at the top of the photo. Creighton University President Rev. Daniel Hendrickson talks about the VirtuHOT solar hot water that will be on the roof of the soon to open Graves Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Creighton University President Rev. Daniel Hendrickson gives a tour of a dorm room at Graves Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. A dorm room at Graves Hall. Creighton University President Creighton Rev. Daniel Hendrickson talks about the VirtuHOT solar hot water that will be on the roof of the soon to open Graves Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Creighton is set to open Graves Hall soon. The roof has solar panels, seen at the bottom of the photo, and VirtuHOT solar hot water on the roof at the top of the photo. Photos: Creighton opens new freshmen residence hall Creighton is set to open Graves Hall soon. The roof has solar panels, seen at the bottom of the photo, and VirtuHOT solar hot water on the roof at the top of the photo. Creighton University President Rev. Daniel Hendrickson talks about the VirtuHOT solar hot water that will be on the roof of the soon to open Graves Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Creighton University President Rev. Daniel Hendrickson gives a tour of a dorm room at Graves Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. A dorm room at Graves Hall. Creighton University President Creighton Rev. Daniel Hendrickson talks about the VirtuHOT solar hot water that will be on the roof of the soon to open Graves Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Creighton is set to open Graves Hall soon. The roof has solar panels, seen at the bottom of the photo, and VirtuHOT solar hot water on the roof at the top of the photo.