A new scholarship will provide financial support to nursing students pursuing a four-year degree through the RIBN (Regionally Increasing Baccalaureate Nurses) program—a collaborative pathway between Western Piedmont Community College and Lenoir-Rhyne University.
The Mabel S. Franklin RN Nursing Scholarship was established through the Western Piedmont Foundation by Dr. Thomas Franklin Jr. and his sister, Nancy Sue Franklin, in memory of their mother, the late Mabel S. Franklin, RN. The scholarship will assist students pursuing an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) at WPCC while dually enrolled in the RIBN program at Lenoir-Rhyne, which allows students to complete both their ADN and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing within four years.
Leah Beth Hubbard, assistant vice president for admission at Lenoir-Rhyne, praised the new scholarship opportunity. Mabel Franklin’s journey into nursing began in the 1930s when she left her coal-mining hometown of Nora, Virginia, and came to Morganton to attend Grace Hospital School of Nursing. She graduated in 1936 and worked at Grace Hospital for many years in supervisory roles before joining Broughton Hospital, where she managed the men’s unit until retiring in the late 1960s due to breast cancer. She passed away in 2003.
Born in 1914, Mabel Franklin was inspired by her mother, who worked as a hospital cook, and by the outreach of Grace Episcopal Church, which founded the hospital and its nursing school. Her dedication to the nursing profession influenced others in her family and community to follow in her footsteps. Dr. Franklin and Nancy Sue Franklin both grew up in Morganton. He graduated from Morganton High School in 1959, and she in 1962. Together, they created the scholarship to support the next generation of health care professionals in Burke County.
The first scholarship will be awarded this fall. To explore scholarship opportunities and resources for WPCC students, visit https://wpcc.awardspring.com. Additional information about the Western Piedmont Foundation is available at https://wpcc.edu/foundation. Details about the RIBN program and the Bachelor of Science in Nursing pathway at Lenoir-Rhyne University can be found at https://www.lr.edu/nursing.
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