2018 is wrapping up at Frontier Nursing University (FNU)! From individual student accomplishments to the Versailles campus acquisition, it was truly an exciting year to be part of the FNU community. Below are some of our highlights from 2018. Be sure to watch the “2018 FNU Year in Review” video at the bottom of the post as well.
Excellence in Teaching
Frontier’s MSN and PGC programs received continued accreditation from the Board of Commissioners of the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). ACEN granted the accreditation of each of the specialties offered in FNU’s master of science in nursing and post-graduate certificate programs, and the new psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) specialty, through 2025. The first PMHNP students graduated in March.
In July, FNU was awarded the Advanced Nursing Education Workforce (ANEW) grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The grant totals $1,376,800 in funding from 2018-2020, including $600,000 in student scholarships.
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ACEN Grants Continued Accreditation to FNU
First Students Graduate from FNU’s Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program
Frontier Nursing University Awarded $1.3 Million HRSA Program Grant
Diversity and Inclusion
June held FNU’s eighth-annual Diversity Impact Student Conference. With workshops and activities revolving around the theme, “We Are One: Uniting Dreamers with Diverse Voices,” the four-day event helped attendees explore how to create meaningful connections within diverse communities. FNU was honored to receive the 2018 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education in October.
Read more:
Frontier Nursing University Receives 2018 Health Professions HEED Award
FNU Diversity Impact Celebrates 8 Years
A New Frontier: Versailles Campus
FNU is creating a new, accessible campus in Versailles, Ky. In September, FNU secured a contractor and began the renovations to several buildings and plots on the property. With expected completion tentatively set for 2020, you can stay up to date on the progress by subscribing for email updates or visiting Frontier.edu/versailles-kentucky-campus.
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FNU to Begin Work on Versailles Campus
Successful FNU Programs
From June to August, three Couriers served a vast number of Appalachian community members through their work in clinics and nonprofits. FNU also hosted its annual virtual events for National Midwifery Week (Sept. 30- Oct. 6) and National Nurse Practitioner Week (Nov. 11-18). Themed “Answer the Call to Service,” the free online sessions and continuing education opportunities provided participants with fuel to improve their leadership in the field.
Read more:
Couriers Impact Appalachian Communities Through Summer of Service
Explore Sessions from This Year’s National Midwifery Week Virtual Event
What to Expect for FNU’s National Nurse Practitioner Week Virtual Event
Faculty & Staff Accomplishments
A couple of new staff and faculty members joined the FNU team in 2018. Debra Turner was brought on as the new Wendover operations manager, and Dr. Joan Slager was named dean of nursing. FNU President Dr. Susan Stone also received professional accolades when she was inducted as president of ACNM and elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Several faculty members and alumni contributed to the American Journal of Nursing (AJN) book of the year. “Freestanding Birth Centers: Innovation, Evidence, Optimal Outcomes,” written by several FNU faculty members and alumni, was awarded first place in the 2017 AJN Book of the Year Awards in Maternal-Child Health.
Read more:
New Wendover Operations Manager, Debra Turner
Meet FNU’s New Dean of Nursing, Dr. Joan Slager, CNM, DNP, FACNM
FNU President Dr. Susan Stone Inducted as President of ACNM
Frontier Nursing University President Dr. Susan Stone Elected to National Academy of Medicine
Student & Alumni Achievements
On October 26, more than 800 nurse-midwife and nurse practitioner graduates received their degrees at commencement. We wish each the best in their careers!
Alumni from 2017 showed the effectiveness of a properly-structured, affordable distance education nursing program as test-takers surpassed the national board examination averages. Graduates exceeded national averages in each of the CNM, WHNP, FNP, MSN and PGC examinations.
Read more:
Frontier Nursing University Graduates Surpass National Board Examination Averages
FNU Awards Degrees to Over 800 Nurse-Midwife and Nurse Practitioner Graduates
We are so proud of our accomplishments in the FNU Community in 2018. The support from our friends, alumni, faculty, students, staff, and Couriers has been invaluable to our growth and success. We welcome 2019 with open arms!
Carrie Belin is an experienced board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins DNP program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Georgetown University School of Nursing, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has also completed fellowships at Georgetown and the University of California Irvine.
Angie has been a full-scope midwife since 2009. She has experience in various birth settings including home, hospital, and birth centers. She is committed to integrating the midwifery model of care in the US. She completed her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) and her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as the midwifery clinical faculty at FNU. Angie is motivated by the desire to improve the quality of healthcare and has led quality improvement projects on skin-to-skin implementation, labor induction, and improving transfer of care practices between hospital and community midwives. In 2017, she created a short film on skin-to-skin called 
Justin C. Daily, BSN, RN, has ten years of experience in nursing. At the start of his nursing career, Justin worked as a floor nurse on the oncology floor at St. Francis. He then spent two years as the Director of Nursing in a small rural Kansas hospital before returning to St. Francis and the oncology unit. He has been in his current position as the Chemo Nurse Educator for the past four years. He earned an Associate in Nurse from Hutchinson Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bethel College.
Brandy Jackson serves as the Director of Undergraduate Nursing Programs and Assistant Educator at Wichita State University and Co-Director of Access in Nursing. Brandy is a seasoned educator with over 15 years of experience. Before entering academia, Brandy served in Hospital-based leadership and Critical Care Staff nurse roles. Brandy is passionate about equity in nursing education with a focus on individuals with disabilities. Her current research interests include accommodations of nursing students with disabilities in clinical learning environments and breaking down barriers for historically unrepresented individuals to enter the nursing profession. Brandy is also actively engaged in Interprofessional Education development, creating IPE opportunities for faculty and students at Wichita State. Brandy is an active member of Wichita Women for Good and Soroptimist, with the goal to empower women and girls. Brandy is a TeamSTEPPS master trainer. She received the DASIY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2019 at Wichita State University. 
Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine is an Arab-disabled queer woman of color with a PhD in Nursing and an interdisciplinary certificate in Disability Ethics from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s doctoral research explored spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine now serves as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in UIC’s Department of Disability and Human Development and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND). During her doctoral program, Sabrina served as a Summer Fellow at a residential National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute at Arizona State University (2023), a summer fellow at Andrew W. Mellon’s National Humanities Without Walls program at University of Michigan (2022), a Summer Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute (2021), and an Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) trainee (2019-2020).
Vanessa Cameron works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nursing Education & Professional Development. She is also attending George Washington University and progressing towards a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis on ableism in nursing. After becoming disabled in April 2021, Vanessa’s worldview and perspective changed, and a recognition of the ableism present within healthcare and within the culture of nursing was apparent. She has been working since that time to provide educational foundations for nurses about disability and ableism, provide support for fellow disabled nursing colleagues, and advocate for the disabled community within healthcare settings to reduce disparities.
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Seedworks Health Equity in Nursing Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Canty has provided reproductive health care for over 29 years. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing and midwifery.
Dr. Lisa Meeks is a distinguished scholar and leader whose unwavering commitment to inclusivity and excellence has significantly influenced the landscape of health professions education and accessibility. She is the founder and executive director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative and holds appointments as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM (she/her) is a trailblazing force in reproductive justice, blending her expertise as a public health activist, anthropologist, and family nurse-midwife to champion the rights and health of underserved communities. Graduating with distinction from Howard University, Nikia holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public health. Her academic journey also led her to the University of Memphis, where she earned a master’s in medical anthropology, and the University of Tennessee, where she achieved both a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice. Complementing her extensive education, she completed a post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University.
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).