The $1 million appropriation would allow the college to upgrade its laboratories and hire more clinical instructors for its respected School of Nursing, thereby opening additional spots for students interested in working at hospitals and other health care facilities.

Many hospitals in Massachusetts are in desperate need of nurses. So during a time the jobs picture has been rather dismal generally, nursing offers a career path that can be both lucrative and secure.

The North Shore Medical Center has been an important training ground for students in the nursing program going back a century or so ago when it was known simply as Salem Hospital and the state college's principal task was turning out public school teachers.

"Some of our most skilled and compassionate nurses are graduates of Salem State," according to NSMC President Robert Norton, adding that the legislation "will help us continue to hire qualified nurses that have a direct benefit to the thousands of patients we see every year."

SSC President Nancy Harrington is similarly enthusiastic, noting that the funding "will enable us to admit a significant number of qualified applicants who would otherwise be turned away due to fiscal constraints."

Senate Majority Leader Frederick E. Berry, D-Peabody, who played a major role in pushing the appropriation through both chambers, describes it as a win not only for the participating institutions, but for the region as a whole.

Indeed, the health and biotechnology fields are of increasing importance to the North of Boston economy. An expanded nursing program at the region's major public institution of higher education can only enhance the opportunities this growth is creating. The governor should by all means include the appropriation in the budget he signs later this month.