WSSU Lands Nearly $45 Million in New State Budget for Scholarships, Nursing Workforce, and Campus Overhaul

Nearly $45 million in North Carolina state funding is headed to Winston-Salem State University, with dollars earmarked for campus construction, nursing education, student scholarships and employee pay, the university announced.

The investment reaches three pressure points for Winston-Salem at once: construction work already underway and additional bids being accepted through July 16, a larger pipeline of nurses as North Carolina hospitals face a 13 percent unfilled RN position rate—higher than the 10 percent national average—and financial aid that determines whether Twin City students can afford to stay and graduate.

WSSU enrolls approximately 4,776 students and generates $500 million to $600 million in economic impact for the local economy, supporting more than 7,000 jobs. More than 9,000 WSSU alumni remain in the Piedmont Triad region after graduation, contributing approximately $242.5 million to the regional economy.

The biggest share of the new package goes to bricks, mortar and construction crews. Nearly $40 million is set aside for capital improvements over two fiscal years, including $14.65 million to complete renovation and modernization of K.R. Williams Auditorium. The auditorium renovation is being delivered via a construction-manager-at-risk model, with early sitework and structural packages already under construction and Package #3A for remaining work accepting rebids from prequalified contractors through July 16, 2026.

The university generates approximately 1,006 on-campus jobs and 1,233 off-campus jobs created through university-related spending. Whether construction contracts flow to Winston-Salem firms or out-of-market contractors will determine how much of the capital spending circulates locally.

The budget also puts WSSU into North Carolina's response to a growing nursing shortage. The university will participate in the Nursing Fellows Forgivable Education Loan Pilot Program, with $1.4 million in recurring funds established for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The program offers up to $5,000 per semester to students pursuing Bachelor of Science in Nursing or Master of Science in Nursing Education degrees, with service obligations to work as registered nurses in rural North Carolina or teach nursing full-time at approved post-secondary institutions.

The stakes are substantial: North Carolina is projected to face a shortage of approximately 12,500 registered nurses by 2033, with hospitals accounting for nearly 10,000 of those open positions. The state requires approximately 7,010 new registered nurses annually from 2025-2027 just to maintain current workforce levels, offsetting retirements and exits. Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem is actively hiring for multiple nursing positions, offering sign-on bonuses up to $15,000 for registered nurses in medical surgical telemetry units.

The program's service obligation prioritizes rural areas and does not specifically bind graduates to Forsyth County or Winston-Salem employers.

The budget also expands WSSU's ability to recruit high-achieving students with fewer financial barriers. The university is authorized to award up to 50 Cheatham-White merit-based scholarships annually starting in the 2027-2028 academic year, making it one of only three historically Black universities in North Carolina with this expansion. Prior to 2027, the program was limited to 20 scholarships per university; the expansion now authorizes WSSU to award 40 scholarships to North Carolina residents and 10 to non-residents annually.

The Cheatham-White Scholarship is a full-ride award covering tuition, student fees, housing, meals, textbooks, laptop, supplies, travel, and personal expenses, plus four summers of fully funded enrichment and networking opportunities. The scholarship was created in 2017 for NC A&T State University and NC Central University and expanded to include Winston-Salem State University in 2019, with the first WSSU cohort selected for fall 2020.

Eligible WSSU employees will receive a 3 percent salary increase, one-time bonuses, and additional compensation for law enforcement officers under the budget allocation.

Whether the city captures the full economic return depends on factors beyond the state budget: housing affordability for new graduates, competitive salaries at local hospitals and employers relative to Charlotte and Raleigh, and whether construction contracts flow to local firms.