It wasn’t at the top of UW-Madison’s wish list for new buildings. But in the early hours Friday, Sen. Judy Robson, D-Beloit, inserted a $47 million facility for the UW-Madison School of Nursing into the state budget.

It was one of a number of projects that were included as part of a sweeping motion passed by the Legislature’s budget committee as it worked to bridge a new $1.6 billion budget shortfall.

Robson, a former nurse, said the facility will benefit the entire state by helping to address a nursing shortage.

But some Republicans questioned its sudden inclusion in the budget, noting it was not part of the university’s capital budget request nor was it included in Gov. Jim Doyle’s original budget.

“Anybody’s got to be skeptical of something that the Democrats tuck in at the very last minute when the governor of their own party didn’t include it in his budget,” said Mark Jefferson, Wisconsin Republican Party executive director.

Robson, who worked as a nurse for more than 25 years and taught nursing at Blackhawk Technical College, said the project “should have” been included in Doyle’s budget.

The state would need to borrow $28 million to pay for the project.

“I put the spotlight on and nagged and nudged and got it,” she said.

No one from the School of Nursing was available for comment Friday.

Robson said the current School of Nursing, which is spread across several buildings, including UW Hospital, is not big enough to train the number of nurses needed to meet the state’s demand. Conditions are crowded, and students must share space with other health programs, she said.

A report commissioned by UW System found nursing programs within the System must expand to avoid a nursing shortage. UW-Madison accepted 150 students last year but turned away 400 qualified applicants because of limited resources, UW-Madison School of Nursing Dean Katharyn May said earlier this year.

The new building, if approved by the Legislature and the governor, will be located on the west side of campus near the School of Pharmacy and the School of Medicine and Public Health. It will include a high-tech unit, 250-seat auditorium and room to accommodate 10 additional professors and 30 to 40 doctoral students, according to the school’s Web site.

In addition to the $28 million in state-funded borrowing, it will use $5 million in money from fees and $13 million from gifts and grants.

— State Journal reporter Matthew DeFour contributed to this report.