The atrium in the new $23.6 million Vanderbilt University School of Nursing building has been named after former dean Colleen Conway-Welch, PhD, FAAN, FACNM, who served as dean for 29 years and is credited with transforming nursing education at Vanderbilt and nationally.

The Colleen Conway-Welch Atrium will serve as the main entrance to the school at 461 21st Ave. S. and connect all four of the nursing school's buildings together.

During a June 5 dedication ceremony, VUSN Dean Linda Norman, DSN, FAAN, thanked the trustees of Conway-Welch's estate and the Colleen Conway-Welch Family Foundation for providing the funds for the atrium and for their vision for honoring the late dean. "We are most grateful for these gifts, which allow us to memorialize Colleen and her extraordinary life, leadership and dedication to Vanderbilt School of Nursing," she said.

Conway-Welch died from cancer in October 2018, four months before the building was completed.