After nearly two years of being shut down by the pandemic, Frontier Nursing University’s (FNU) new Versailles, Ky. campus welcomed its first students last fall. Other than Commencement, which is the signature event every year, the resumption of student activities on campus was the highlight of 2021. Fittingly, the return to campus is featured prominently in the 2021 President’s Annual Report, which once again reviews the past year at Frontier through the lens of the 2021 strategic plan objectives. The efforts to achieve those strategic objectives resulted in many successes and lessons learned for the members of the Frontier community.
The first student activity held on campus was Clinical Bound, one of the central components of every FNU student’s program. Clinical Bound is a five-day on-campus event during which students learn and practice clinical skills via simulations before they put them into practice at their clinical sites. In the President’s Annual Report, the first Clinical Bounds held on the Versailles campus are detailed from both student and faculty perspectives. Additionally, the Report details the technical components of Clinical Bound and the role of the Information Technology personnel in assuring successful student experiences on campus.
Even though 2021 saw a gradual emergence from the pandemic, COVID-19 continued to be a dominant story throughout the year. It once again forced major events like Commencement and the Diversity Impact Conference to be held virtually for the second consecutive year. Dr. LaTonya J. Trotter, acclaimed author and Associate Professor of Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Washington, gave a powerful keynote address at Commencement. Dr. Trotter urged the graduates to go forth and continue to serve and lead their communities. Commencement, which celebrated over 900 graduates, also included the announcement of the Annual Leadership Awards and the Excellence in Teaching Awards. The recipients of these awards as well as the Annual Service Awards are also recognized in the Annual Report.
The 11th annual Diversity Impact Conference was also a great success despite being held virtually. The theme of the event was “Dismantling Systemic Racism and Discrimination in Healthcare: Our Roles and Responsibilities.” The overarching goal of the three-day conference was to explore the history and role of healthcare systems as a vehicle for promoting racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression. A total of 112 students, faculty, and staff attended the free, three-day conference, which was held in June.
More big news came in June when the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded FNU two grants totaling $4,140,000. The HRSA Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training grant totals $1,920,000, and the Nursing Workforce Diversity grant totals $2,220,000. HRSA, which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will award the funding for both grants in annual installments over four years.
Awards and achievements were a common theme throughout the year. The university was named a recipient of the prestigious INSIGHT Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award for the fourth consecutive year. FNU’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives also were recognized by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), and the Diverse Organizational Impact and Transformation (DOIT) Certification Program. A leader in distance learning since 1989, Frontier also received an International Distance Learning Award, presented by the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA). Additionally, the university was recognized as “A Great College to Work For” by the Great Colleges to Work For® program.
In addition to these important events and stories, the 2021 President’s Annual Report also includes data and information on university enrollment, diversity, retention, precepting, and more. The 2021 President’s Annual Report is available to read online or download here.
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).