In honor of his more than two decades of service and leadership to Frontier Nursing University (FNU), Dr. Michael Carter was named a recipient of FNU’s Lifetime Service Award. The award was presented at the FNU Alumni Hall of Fame and Service Awards Dinner on Thursday, September 25, at the Kentucky Castle in Versailles, Kentucky.
The Lifetime Service Award recognizes an individual or organization providing long-standing support and commitment to the mission and work of Frontier Nursing University.
Dr. Carter, who passed away in June of 2025, served as Chair of the Frontier Nursing University Board of Directors from 2009 to April 2025. Dr. 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’s leadership was marked by his determination, his entrepreneurial spirit, and his extraordinary passion.
“Michael was respected for his excellence as a practitioner, educator, and leader,” FNU President Dr. Brooke A. Flinders said. “He was loved for his kindness, generosity, grace, and beloved storytelling ability. Dr. Carter will be terribly missed, but always fondly remembered.”
Dr. Carter grew up on a farm in Missouri and went on to attend the University of Arkansas College of Nursing, earning his Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1969 and his Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) 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 Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Tennessee in 2009. He completed a Fellowship in Primary Care Health Policy with the United States Public Health Service.
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 from 1982-2000. 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. In recognition of his expertise and dedication to nursing in Australia, he was made a Fellow of the Australian College of Nurse Practitioners.
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 College of Nursing’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2019. Shortly before his passing, Frontier Nursing University selected Dr. Carter as the 2025 recipient of its Lifetime Service Award in recognition of his unyielding support over many years.
During his more than 20 years at Frontier, Dr. Carter was instrumental in many milestone moments for the university. He was on the Board of Governors when what was then known as the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing launched the Doctor of Nursing Practice program in 2008. Notably, he was the Board Chair when the university officially changed its name to Frontier Nursing University in 2011.
In 2017, under Dr. Carter’s visionary leadership, FNU made the pivotal decision to purchase property in Versailles, Kentucky, an investment aimed at expanding student access and supporting the university’s growth. That same year, FNU began taking applications for the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner MSN degree. Then, in 2022, after the completion of renovations and construction, Frontier held the ribbon-cutting ceremony officially opening the Versailles campus. Most recently, Dr. Carter initiated the successful search for and transition to FNU’s second president, Dr. Brooke A. Flinders, in 2024.
Dr. Carter was a staunch supporter of FNU over the years and provided many financial contributions to support students and FNU’s campus. In 2021, Dr. Carter, his wife Dr. Sarah Carter, and their daughter Elizabeth Carter, JD, announced a $500,000 donation to further the mission of FNU. The gift furthers Dr. Carter’s commitment and lifelong work to enrich the nursing profession across the globe.
“His extraordinary leadership was exceeded only by his wisdom, kindness, and dedication to the care of others,” said FNU Board of Directors Chair Marcus Osborne. “The debt of gratitude that is owed to him is immense.”
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).