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U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster speaks with Franklin Pierce University students during a roundtable discussion at the university on Tuesday. -
U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster shakes hands with student John Viens during a campus visit to Franklin Pierce University on Tuesday. -
U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs for the College of Health and Natural Sciences Becky Dunn speak with Brea Mathieu during a tour of the Marcucella Health Sciences Building. -
From left, John Viens, Eva West, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs Becky Dunn, Gabby Oliva, U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster, President Peter A. Eden, Ariana Brew, Provost Catherine M. Paden, assistant professor Lindsay Vago, Gavin Giovagnoli, professor Catherine Owen Koning, and associate professor Susan Arruda pose for a group photo outside Peterson Manor on the Franklin Pierce Universitycampus. -
U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster and college President Peter Eden speak with Baneen Al Ghadhbawi during a tour of the Marcucella Health Sciences Building.
U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster visited Franklin Pierce University Tuesday, speaking with science faculty and students to celebrate the allocation of $825,000 in Congressional Designated Funding to build a new simulation lab in the college’s health sciences building.
In addition to the designated funding, Kuster has also helped acquire $1 million in the 2025 federal budget, yet to be passed, for significant renovations of Franklin Pierce’s Marcucella Hall, where science labs and health sciences classes are held.
“In New Hampshire, we have a shortage of health care workers in a number of fields – nursing, physical therapy, various health care professions,” Kuster said following the tour and a roundtable with faculty and students. “We are trying to expand the educational opportunities for New Hampshire students and for students who choose to stay here and work and make a life in New Hampshire. The best way for us to do that is working with our institutions of higher education, including Franklin Pierce, to improve their facilities, and modernize facilities for the kind of science learning the students need for getting degrees and certificates in modern medicine.”
The funding for the simulation lab will be put toward a state-of-the-art lab at the university’s Lebanon Academic Center.
“We are incredibly grateful to Congresswoman Kuster for her unwavering support of Franklin Pierce University and our students,” said new FPU President Peter Eden. “Her commitment to securing resources that enhance our health sciences programs is a testament to her dedication to the future of health care, particularly in rural communities. These investments will ensure that our students are empowered with skills and experience needed to understand and utilize modern approaches in biomedical science research and clinical application.”
Franklin Pierce applied for the funding through Kuster’s office with assistance from her staff. She said it’s extremely important for students to learn skills on up-to-date equipment, and in environments that are similar to the fields where they’ll be working.
“There were stories about students arriving, saying ‘Our high school labs were in better shape.’ We need to compete with the students of this generation, and I want to make sure Franklin Pierce has the facilities to attract those students and send them to world-class facilities all across New Hampshire,” Kuster said. “You need to learn on the type of equipment and concepts and learning style that’s required for the modern-day health care delivery system.”
During the roundtable discussion on the funding, Franklin Pierce environmental science professor Catherine Owen Koning said she has been teaching at Franklin Pierce, and in Marcucella Hall, for 31 years. She said in terms of physical improvements, “very little has changed.”
While in need of updating, Koning said that she was pleased with the university’s dedication to team processes and requiring that all students, even non-science majors, participate in a lab process.
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Catherine Paden praised Kuster’s dedication to supporting community projects, saying, “The support of Congresswoman Kuster allows us to continue our mission of providing high-quality education and training to students who will serve in critical health care roles. The enhancements to Marcucella Hall will directly benefit our students, giving them the tools they need to succeed in their studies and future careers.”
During the roundtable, senior Gabby Oliva discussed research she had participated in during her time at Franklin Pierce, looking at post-mortem brain tissue of those who had died from opioid overdoses and studying potential links between certain proteins and addiction. It was important work, Oliva said, but done in a lab shared with multiple other professors working on other projects, meaning each could only have a very small team of students.
“We were on top of each other in that lab,” said Oliva.
Eden said that the university has the curriculum, but is in need of enhancements to the physical environment for its laboratory students.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.