Frontier Nursing University (FNU) graduates, family and friends gathered to celebrate commencement on Saturday, Sep. 28. A total of 852 graduates were honored in this year’s ceremony, and 265 attended along with family, friends and over 200 FNU faculty, staff and board members.
Degrees were conferred on graduates who completed the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, Master of Science in Nursing degree, or Post-Graduate Certificate.
To accommodate almost 2,000 attendees, this year’s ceremony was moved from its traditional location in Hyden, Ky. to the Lexington Center’s Bluegrass Ballroom in Lexington, Ky. The move coincides with the ongoing construction of FNU’s new campus in Versailles, Ky., scheduled to open in 2020. The Versailles campus will allow FNU to better serve its growing student population.
Faculty and students who showed exceptional performance received awards during the ceremony. Please join us in congratulating the 2019 commencement award recipients:
Doctor of Nursing Practice Leadership Award: Heather Haslun
Nurse Practitioner Leadership Award: Kristin DeArruda Wharton
Kitty Ernst Leadership Award: Heidi Philips
DNP Exemplary Project Award: Carla Bray
Student Choice Academic Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching: Janet Engstrom
Student Choice Regional Clinical Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching: Nancy Pesta Walsh
FNU was honored to welcome Dr. Joycelyn Elders, M.D. as the keynote speaker. In 1993, Dr. Elders was appointed as the 15th Surgeon General of the United States, becoming the second woman and the first African American to serve in the role.
Dr. Elders shared her inspiring journey of rising from her upbringing in rural Arkansas through the medical and governmental ranks. Throughout her career, she achieved ground-breaking success in her office practice, medical research, and education leadership. Now retired, she still plays an active role in public health education in her Arkansas community.
Dr. Elders was also presented with an FNU honorary doctorate.
“It was a tremendous honor to have Dr. Elders join us as the keynote speaker for our 2019 commencement ceremony,” said FNU President Dr. Susan Stone. “We are so thankful and proud that she shared her story with our graduates and their families.”
Congratulations to all of our 2019 graduates!
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).