As 2024 winds down, we’re thrilled to share the accomplishments and milestones that defined our year. From student and faculty achievements to innovative initiatives, the Frontier community continues to drive positive change in health care across the country.
1. Milestones for Our Students
This year, hundreds of students participated in Frontier Bound, starting their FNU journey with orientation and skill-building at our Versailles campus. Time is spent learning skills needed for distance education, making lifelong friends, reviewing courses, asking questions, and planning to be a successful Frontier student after returning home. Meanwhile, many other students prepared for clinical rotations during Clinical Bound, a skills-intensive experience for MSN and PGC students.
2. Celebrating Graduates
We celebrated the graduation of more than 1,000 students this year who completed MSNs, DNPs and PGCs. Our annual commencement ceremony was held on Saturday, September 28, at Rupp Arena in Lexington, recognizing our graduates and their hard work and dedication to advanced practice nursing. We cannot wait to see the amazing impact they will have on their communities. For more photos, please visit this link.
3. Welcoming FNU’s New President
On August 1, Dr. Brooke A. Flinders began her tenure as the President of FNU. With a rich background in advanced practice nursing, education, and academic leadership, she brings a wealth of expertise to her new role. Previously, Dr. Flinders served as Professor of Nursing and Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs at Miami University in Ohio. She is also an accomplished graduate of FNU, holding both a Master of Science in Nursing and a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.
4. A Transition in Leadership
Following the appointment of Dr. Flinders as President of FNU, Dr. Susan Stone transitioned into the role of President Emerita and Distinguished Chair of Midwifery and Nursing. After 23 years of visionary leadership at the helm of FNU, Dr. Stone announced her retirement in 2023. Her career has been a testament to unwavering dedication to advancing the fields of nursing and midwifery.
5. FNU Homecoming
In March, the FNU community came together for an engaging and memorable homecoming on our campus. The event featured a wide range of activities designed to educate, connect, and celebrate. Highlights included a Continuing Education course, a special viewing of the documentary Nurse-Midwives: Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, private campus tours, and an awards dinner recognizing outstanding contributions within the FNU community.
6. Celebrating Diversity
In July, FNU proudly hosted the 14th annual Diversity Impact Conference, a transformative virtual event focused on advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in healthcare. This year’s theme, “Representation Matters: Breaking Down Contributing Factors of Health Inequities,” guided discussions and activities that emphasized the critical role of representation in addressing disparities in healthcare access and outcomes.
7. Offering Continuing Education
In May, FNU proudly introduced a Continuing Education Program tailored for nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners. These new offerings focus on professional development, addressing the needs of special patient populations, and preparing clinicians for certification. The program is thoughtfully designed to prioritize the unique challenges of community-based healthcare providers, particularly those serving rural and underserved populations. It also emphasizes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, ensuring clinicians are equipped to deliver culturally competent and inclusive care.
8. Inspiring Conferences
Throughout the year, FNU actively engaged with the broader nursing and midwifery communities by participating in prominent industry conferences across the country. These gatherings provided invaluable opportunities to connect with current and prospective students, share best practices, and highlight the achievements of FNU students, faculty, alumni, and preceptors.
9. Courier Program Success
This summer, the Frontier Courier Program Public Health Internship welcomed eight college students from across the U.S. for an enriching seven-week hybrid service-learning experience. With a legacy rooted in addressing healthcare disparities, the Courier Program invites students passionate about public health, healthcare, social work, and related fields to explore the profound impact of primary healthcare in rural and underserved communities. Participants gained hands-on experience supporting clinical and community sites, addressing unmet needs, and developing cross-cultural competencies.
10. Celebrating Preceptors
In August, FNU held its second annual Preceptor Celebration Week from August 12-16. This virtual celebration was dedicated to recognizing the important contributions of FNU preceptors who play an essential role in shaping the next generation of advanced practice nurses. The week highlighted the invaluable mentorship and guidance preceptors provide to students, ensuring that the future of nursing is built on a foundation of knowledge, experience, and compassionate care.
11. Culture of Caring and Community Outreach
This year, FNU proudly extended our Culture of Caring to the local community in Kentucky through support and participation in a variety of causes and events. This culture is grounded in five key elements: Professionalism, Inclusivity, Respect, Positive Communication, and Mutual Support. These values are at the heart of FNU’s mission and are reflected in the actions of our students, alumni, faculty, staff, donors, and friends.
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Dr. Brooke Flinders pictured on campus with the Woodford County NAACP.
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Frontier staff at the Go Red for Women annual luncheon.
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Lisa Colletti-Jones, Director of Annual Giving and Courier Programs, presented a scholarship to Woodford County High School graduate Falyn Gooslin.
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The Frontier team at the Twilight Festival in Versailles, Ky.
12. Award-Winning Education
In 2024, we were honored to receive several awards and accolades. These included the INSIGHT into Diversity Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award for the seventh consecutive year; “Great College to Work For” designation for the fourth consecutive year; Academic Healthy Work Environment Award from Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing; the AACN Inclusive Excellence, Belonging, and Sustainability in Nursing Education Award; and acceptance into the Age-Friendly University Global Network.
13. Addressing Maternal Mortality
In September, FNU hosted a pivotal Maternal Mortality Conference to address the public health crisis surrounding maternal deaths. The event brought together attendees from across the nation, providing a platform to highlight successful programs and practices aimed at reducing maternal mortality rates. Held in collaboration with the Campion Fund, the conference emphasized evidence-based strategies that have made a measurable difference in improving maternal health outcomes, particularly in underserved communities.
14. FNU on the Big Screen
In July, FNU premiered its impactful documentary, Nurse Midwives: Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville. The documentary highlights the critical role of nurse-midwives in combating the maternal health crisis, showcasing how distance education has enabled the training of more nurse-midwives to address the U.S. maternal mortality rate, the highest among wealthy nations. According to 2022 data from the CDC, over 80% of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. from 2017-2019 were preventable with better care. FNU’s documentary underscores the urgent need for quality care and the life-saving impact of midwives in addressing this public health crisis.
If you would like to host a viewing of Nurse-Midwives: Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis in your community, please fill out this form to participate.
15. Recognizing Midwives and NPs
This year, FNU hosted virtual events to celebrate both National Midwifery Week (October 6–12) and National Nurse Practitioner Week (November 10–16). For National Midwifery Week, FNU presented an engaging virtual event called Empower 2024, which focused on the contributions of nurse-midwives. During this event, FNU also introduced two new continuing education courses aimed at advancing the knowledge and skills of nurse-midwives. Later in the year, for National Nurse Practitioner Week, FNU held another Empower virtual event. This event also introduced new continuing education opportunities and celebrated nurse practitioners, acknowledging their dedication to compassionate care and their positive impact on families and communities.
16. Hurricane Relief
In September, in the aftermath of multiple severe hurricanes in the southeast United States, the FNU community rallied together to support students affected by the devastation. Through the Student Emergency Fund, generous donations were collected to assist students during this challenging time. These contributions made a profound impact, helping students navigate unexpected financial hardships such as a hurricane, tornado, fire, flooding, or family illness .
17. Day of Giving
Our third annual Day of Giving raised over $106,000, setting a new record. The campaign saw contributions from 170 donors, reflecting the continued growth and generosity of the FNU community. Donors supported the university in various ways, including through donor-advised funds, annual fund donations, stock gifts, and planned giving. Day of Giving provided a unique opportunity for donors to direct their contributions toward causes that matter most to them, such as the FNU Scholarship Fund, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, the Courier Program, and the Alumni Fund.
18. New Board Leadership
This year, FNU proudly welcomed two new members to its Board of Directors: Elaine Bolle, MB, BA, and Michael Steinmetz, CPM, CMA, CSCA. In addition, the Board formally approved FNP student Kate Corbett and DNP student Bridget Ehrhart-Bennett, FNP, PMHNP, as non-voting student representatives serving one-year terms.
19. Welcoming New Staff and Faculty
This year, FNU welcomed several new staff and faculty members who have further enriched our team and supported our mission. Additionally, key leadership announcements were made, strengthening our ability to continue making strides in advancing education for our students. These updates reflect FNU’s commitment to continuously improving and evolving to best serve the healthcare needs of our communities and the educational goals of our students.
We are so proud of the FNU community and look forward to 2025!
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).