More Than 20 UMSON Faculty Members Awarded Funding to Increase Maryland’s Nursing Capacity

Baltimore, Md. – Nineteen University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) faculty members have been named Maryland state New Nurse Faculty Fellows (NNF), two faculty members have been awarded a Nurse Educator Doctoral Grant (NEDG) for Practice and Dissertation Research, and one faculty member has received an inaugural Nurse Faculty Annual Recognition Award. All 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 NNF fellowship is available to new nursing faculty members and supports the expenses of graduate education. It is designed to assist Maryland nursing programs in recruiting and retaining new nursing faculty to produce the additional nursing graduates required by Maryland’s hospitals and health systems. The following faculty members received the maximum award amount of $50,000 for fiscal years 2021 - 25, assuming continuous employment as faculty in good standing and the availability of funding:

• Oluremi Adejumo, DNP ’19, RN, assistant professor
• Marisa Astiz-Martinez, MS ’13, RN, clinical instructor
• DeNiece Bennett, DNP, RN, assistant professor
• Nancy Bolan, PhD, MPH, FNP, CNM, assistant professor and director, Office of Global Health
• Andrea Brassard, PhD, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, associate professor
• Lynn Marie Bullock, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, assistant professor and director, Office of Professional Education
• Kristin Bussell, PhD ’19, MS ’98, BSN ’84, CRNP-PMH, assistant professor
• Joan Carpenter, PhD, CRNP, ACHPN, FPCN, assistant professor
• Patricia Christensen, DNP ’14, RN, NEA-BC, assistant professor
• Hershaw Davis Jr., MS, BSN ’09, RN, clinical instructor
• Tolvalyn Dennison, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BC, CNE, clinical instructor
• Jennifer Fitzgerald, DNP ’15, MS ’00, NNP-BC, assistant professor
• Maeve Howett, PhD, APRN, CPNP-PC, CNE, professor and associate dean for the baccalaureate program
• Sandra Lucci, PhD, MS ’95, RN, CNE, CMSRN, assistant professor
• Patricia Schaefer, MSN, RN, CNE-cl, clinical instructor
• Vivian Schutz, PhD, MBA, RN, assistant professor
• Tara Stoudt, MS ’08, RNC-NIC, clinical instructor­­
• Rebecca Weston, EdD, MSN, RN, CNE, assistant professor
• Rhea Williams, MSN, CNM, clinical instructor

The NEDG for Practice and Dissertation Research provides up to $60,000 to nurse faculty who are currently enrolled in or who have recently completed a doctoral degree, helping to cover costs associated with graduate education. Awards are contingent upon degree completion and employment as a faculty member for one year for each year of the award. The following faculty members received NEDG awards:

• Amanda Henson, MS, RN, CNE, CHSE, clinical instructor
• Weston

And Amy L. Daniels, PhD ’18, MS ’12, BSN ’89, RN, CHSE, assistant professor and director of the Clinical Simulation Labs, has been named an inaugural recipient of the Nurse Faculty Annual Recognition Award. Deans and directors of all Maryland nursing programs may nominate one nurse faculty for recognition each year who demonstrates excellence, innovation, and leadership. Daniels was recognized for demonstrating excellence in teaching, engaging in the life of the School, and contributing to the profession as a nurse educator. This award, available for experienced nursing faculty members, provides $10,000. 

The Nurse Support Program II is a statewide initiative funded by the Health Services Cost Review Commission and administered by the Maryland Higher Education Commission. It helps increase Maryland’s nursing capacity by supporting initiatives that advance the recommendations outlined in the Institute of Medicine’s report The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.

(top row, l to r) Adejumo, Astiz-Martinez, Bennett, Bolan, Brassard, Bullock, (second row, l to r) Bussell, Carpenter, Christensen, Daniels, Davis Jr., Dennison, (third row, l to r) Fitzgerald, Henson, Howett, Lucci, Schaefer, Schutz, (bottom row, l to r) Stoudt, Weston, and Williams.

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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 nearly 2,100 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.