Dr. Michael Carter’s long history with Frontier Nursing University dates to 2003 when he joined what was then the Frontier Nursing Service Board of Governors. Dr. Carter has been a board member ever since and has served as the Board Chair since 2009.
Dr. Carter attended the University of Arkansas College of Nursing, earning his BSN in 1969 and his MNS in 1973. He served in the United States Army Nurse Corp from 1968-71 during the Vietnam War. He earned his doctorate in 1979 from the Boston University School of Nursing and DNP from the University of Tennessee in 2009.
Dr. Carter practiced as a family and geriatric nurse practitioner and served as the Dean of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing for 18 years. He held many teaching positions including serving as an adjunct professor at the Curtin University School of Nursing and Midwifery in Perth, Australia. He also worked to develop nurse practitioner education in Australia.
Dr. Carter’s extensive list of awards and honors include but are not limited to: Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 1982; Outstanding Alumnus from the University of Tennessee College of Nursing in 2000; Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Tennessee Health Science Center Student Government Association in 2005; Lifetime Achievement Award, National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties in 2015; the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Nursing’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2019.
In 2021, Dr. Carter, his wife Dr. Sarah Carter, and their daughter Elizabeth Carter, JD. announced a planned gift of $500,000 that will ensure their continued impact on the future of Frontier Nursing University and the nursing profession for years to come.
“We are so incredibly thankful for the amazing generosity of Drs. Michael and Sarah Carter,” FNU President Dr. Susan Stone said. “Their gifts of time, effort, brilliance, and generosity are invaluable to this university.”
Dr. Sarah Carter was one of six women in her class when she earned her M.D. from the UAMS College of Medicine in1965. Board-certified in internal medicine and geriatrics, she devoted much of her career to working with the Veterans Affairs Health Care System. She was the Chief of Ambulatory Care and Chief of Staff at the Memphis VA Medical Center but also treated patients at VAs across the country.
Like her husband, she has also shared her knowledge with others, previously serving as the Associate Dean at the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
Elizabeth Carter has been a professor at LSU Law since 2010. She earned a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry and a B.A. from the University of Memphis in 2002, where she graduated magna cum laude. She earned her J.D. from Tulane University Law School in 2007, where she graduated magna cum laude, was elected Order of the Coif, and awarded a Civil Law Certificate.
Professor Carter was awarded the 2007 Louisiana Bar Association Civil Law Award for attaining the highest grade in civil law studies. Professor Carter earned her LL.M. in Tax from the University of Alabama in 2010.
We want to celebrate our anniversary by capturing and sharing the countless stories that make up our history. Our alumni, students, preceptors, couriers, donors, volunteers, friends, and employees have made an incredible impact on FNU’s journey over the past 100 years, and we are incredibly grateful to you. Whatever your connection to FNU, we want to hear your Frontier story.
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