In 2025, Frontier Nursing University honored the 100-year anniversary of the inception of the Frontier Nursing Service. We are grateful for the alumni, students, couriers, donors, volunteers, friends, and employees who have made an incredible impact on FNU’s century-long journey. We celebrated this milestone year by capturing and sharing some of the countless stories that make up our history. Whatever your connection to FNU, we hope you enjoy these stories.
Founded in 1993 by Executive Chair Peter Coffin, Breckinridge Capital Advisors (BCA) is an independently owned asset manager based in Boston. Coffin, who is Chair of Frontier’s Foundation Board, served as BCA’s President for over 30 years before retiring on June 30, 2024.
The relationship between BCA and Frontier Nursing University dates back to 2017, when BCA began its support of FNU’s Courier program. The FNU Courier program is an eight-week rural and public health-service learning program for college students interested in public health, healthcare, or a related field. BCA supports the Courier program as part of its own Ambassador Program, which is a charitable effort that includes five focused relationships, each led by a team of Breckinridge employees. When BCA chose to begin sponsoring the Courier program in 2017, the company sent two employees to FNU’s former campus in Hyden, Kentucky, to get first-hand experience with the Courier program.
“One of the objectives of the employee ambassadors is to educate the Breckinridge staff on the mission and goals of their respective organization,” said Coffin, who is a descendant of the Breckinridge family. “Our Frontier ambassadors have done this by inviting Dr. Susan Stone and her colleagues to our offices to give updates on the school and current initiatives.”
Courier program alumni and Boston-area FNU graduates have also been invited to the BCA offices to share their information and experiences with the staff to create a deeper connection to the program. In 2019, the BCA staff engaged in an outreach effort, asking the alma maters of their employees to spread the word about the Courier Program and help the recruitment.
Through these engagement efforts, the connection between BCA and Frontier has grown to include significant financial support. In addition to their financial support of the Courier program, BCA endowed a need-based scholarship to offset tuition costs. To date, the scholarship has aided more than a dozen students. Additionally, in 2020, Breckinridge donated $10,000 to FNU’s student emergency fund, which provides financial assistance to students who are impacted by unforeseen circumstances such as the pandemic, hurricanes, or floods.
