Frontier Nursing University (FNU) celebrated the official opening of its new location on the beautiful, newly renovated Versailles Campus with a ribbon cutting and land acknowledgment ceremony on Friday, September 9, at 10:00 a.m. Approximately 100 people attended the ceremony, including Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who praised the impact of FNU in preparing more nurses to address the nursing shortage in the state and country.
“Congratulations to Frontier Nursing University on this incredible new campus that will serve their students, who in turn will serve our people throughout their careers,” Governor Beshear said. “With help from schools like Frontier Nursing University, I know we can help train the next generation of health care heroes, building a better Kentucky for all of our families.”
FNU celebrated the official opening of its Versailles Campus with a ribbon cutting and land acknowledgment ceremony.
Governor Andy Beshear speaks at FNU ribbon cutting and land acknowledgment ceremony.
FNU is one of the largest not-for-profit universities offering advanced nursing and midwifery education. In October 2017, FNU finalized the purchase of the 217-acre Versailles property previously occupied by The United Methodist Children’s Home to serve its students better and to continue its longstanding commitment to its mission. Renovation and construction for FNU’s new campus and the move from Hyden began in 2018. The opening of the Versailles campus to students was delayed by the pandemic until the Fall of 2021.
FNU’s distance education format allows students to pursue their advanced degrees while continuing to serve the communities in which they live. During their time at FNU, students travel to campus on two separate occasions for 4-5 day learning sessions. The new campus offers convenient access to Bluegrass Airport and major thoroughfares, provides more lodging for visiting students and faculty, and increases classroom and simulation instruction capacity. It also provides greater opportunities for community engagement and events, such as collaborating with the Woodford County Health Department to serve as a COVID vaccination site in 2021.
The university’s current enrollment of 2,500 students hails from across the country. In the last decade, a total of 561 Kentucky residents have graduated from FNU, and the spring term enrollment included 82 Kentucky residents. FNU has nearly 250 employees.
“This is the type of advancement we need across Kentucky,” Governor Beshear said. “What this university is doing is going to be a part of a transformational moment here in Kentucky, and I can’t wait to see the special ways that it helps all of us move forward and become the leaders and not the followers in this country that we’ve always known Kentucky should be.”
“We have had a number of landmark days since we were founded in 1939, and we are so happy to be able to share this momentous occasion with all of you,” said FNU Dean of Nursing Dr. Joan Slager, CNM, DNP, FACNM, FAAN. “Beginning with our founding by Mary Breckinridge in Leslie County, Frontier has always been striving to meet the health care needs of rural and underserved communities.”
The ceremony also included remarks from Woodford County Judge Executive James Kay and Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift. Versailles City Clerk and Treasurer Elizabeth Reynolds delivered a proclamation from Woodford County Mayor Brian Traugott, declaring September 9, 2022, as Frontier Nursing University Day.
Immediately following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, a land acknowledgment ceremony was held, acknowledging the land as the original home of the Shawnee and Cherokee people.
FNU Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Dr. Paula Alexander-Delpech, Ph.D., PMNHP-BC, APRN, introduced Native American elders Helen Danser and Venus Evans, who read the land acknowledgment statement: “Frontier Nursing University wants to acknowledge that Versailles, Kentucky is the traditional territory of the Shawnee and Cherokee people. Frontier Nursing University acknowledges this legacy and finds inspiration from this land. We honor the land itself and those who remain stewards of this land throughout the generations. Territory or land acknowledgment is our way of recognizing the Indigenous presence in our everyday life.”
FNU Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Dr. Paula Alexander-Delpech, Ph.D., PMNHP-BC, APRN, with Native American elders Helen Danser and Venus Evans.
This statement will be engraved on a sign that will be placed at the trailhead of FNU’s 5K walking path will inform visitors of the land’s history.
Land acknowledgments recognize Indigenous Peoples who are the original stewards of the lands we now occupy. It is a time to acknowledge the past and present, and reflect on the history of the land.
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Helen Danser
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Venus Evans
As everyone knows, 2020 was an incredibly eventful and often stressful year. With the pandemic, social justice and reform, and a volatile political climate, it was a year unlike any in recent memory. 
With the COVID-19 Pandemic, social justice and reform, political turmoil, and the completion of the move to the Versailles campus, 2020 was unlike any other year in the history of FNU. Still, the university maintained its course, relying on our strategic plan to guide our actions and measure our progress. 
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.
FNU was honored to welcome Dr. Joycelyn Elders, M.D. as the 
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.
On October 5, alumni, family and friends gathered at Frontier Nursing University’s (FNU) campus for its annual Homecoming celebration. Among the weekend festivities were a reception, cookout, award ceremony and many opportunities to network with present and former FNU students. 
Frontier Nursing University (FNU) is pleased to bring on alumna 
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).