Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Nursing and Midwifery

Frontier Nursing University (FNU) recognized the need to increase diversity within the nursing and midwifery professions, and in 2010, set out to increase enrollment of underrepresented students. In 10 years, FNU’s student of color population has increased from 9% to 27.8%.

FNU’s first step was developing the Diversity PRIDE Program which stood for Promoting Recruitment and Retention to Increase Diversity in Nurse-Midwifery and Nurse Practitioner Education. Today, the initiative is known as the Diversity Impact Program.

The Diversity Impact Program is designed to assist in promoting an inclusive learning and workforce environment at FNU, with a goal to increase diversity in the nursing and midwifery professions by recruiting and retaining underrepresented students and employees.

The success of FNU's Diversity Impact Program has been nationally recognized for preparing nursing and midwifery students to meet the healthcare demands of an increasingly diverse patient population.

"FNU emphasizes diversity, equity and inclusion because patients are more receptive to care from a health provider who understands their culture and socioeconomic background."
- Dr. Susan Stone
President

The Office of DEI encompasses an atmosphere built on a culture of caring. The Office of DEI solicits the equitable perspectives of students, faculty and staff regardless of race, gender, sexual preference or identity, disability and/or religion. In congruence with FNU, the mission of the Office of DEI is to provide accessible nurse-midwifery and nurse practitioner education to prepare competent, entrepreneurial, ethical and compassionate leaders in primary care to serve all individuals with an emphasis on women and families in diverse, rural and underserved populations.

"Diversity, equity, and inclusion are the keys to the future success of the health care delivery system."
- Dr. Geraldine Young,
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer

NATIONAL RECOGNITION

FNU is a national leader in DEI and a three-time winner of the INSIGHT Into Diversity “Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award, recognized in 2018, 2019 and 2020. FNU is also a recipient of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Nursing Workforce Diversity (NWD) Grant.

FNU is a Member of 

Antiracism Statement

“At Frontier Nursing University we oppose injustice and cruelty and condemn racism in all its forms. We support peaceful protests and demonstrations and join all those working to end systemic racism, racial violence, and police brutality. We are committed to building a culture that is inclusive and caring for all.”  ~Dr. Susan Stone, FNU President~ 

Read the full statement here.