Eight UMSON Faculty Members Awarded Funding to Bolster Nursing Faculty Workforce

Baltimore, Md. – Eight University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) faculty members have been named Maryland state New Nurse Faculty Fellows. These awards are part of the Nurse Support Program II, a statewide initiative funded by the Health Services Cost Review Commission and administered by the Maryland Higher Education Commission.

The New Nurse Faculty Fellowship is for new nursing faculty members and helps cover the expenses of their graduate education. It was designed to assist Maryland nursing programs recruit and retain new nursing faculty, to produce the additional nursing graduates Maryland’s hospitals and health systems need. The following UMSON faculty received the maximum award amount of $50,000 for fiscal years 2024 - 28, assuming continuous employment as faculty in good standing and the availability of funding:

• Nicole Akparewa, MSN, MPH, RN, clinical instructor
• Caitlin Donis, MS ’13, AG-ACNP, ACCNS-AG, clinical instructor
• Angelica Fernandez-Dizon, DNP, MD, MBA-HCM, MSN, NP-C, assistant professor
• Kimberly Hampton, PhD, MS ’06, MBA, BSN ’02, RN, assistant professor
• LaWanda Herron, PhD, MSA, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, assistant professor
• Martine Kirwin, DNP, FNP-C, RN, assistant professor
• Kaitlin Shapelow, MS ’13, CRNP, AGNP-PC, clinical instructor
• Cory Stephens, DNP, RN-BC, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, assistant professor

The Nurse Support Program II helps increase Maryland’s nursing capacity by supporting initiatives that advance the recommendations outlined in the National Academy of Medicine’s Future of Nursing reports.

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The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools in the nation and is ranked among the top nursing schools nationwide. Enrolling more than 2,000 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.