News highlights
Jane Chung, Ph.D, RN, associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Health Nursing was named a 2023 Betty Irene Moore Fellow by University of California Davis Nursing School. The program recognizes early to mid-career nursing scholars and innovators and supplies funding to advance innovative research projects or study. Chung was selected based on her research that focuses on evaluating and applying sensors and other emerging technologies to promote healthy aging in older adults.
The school had its largest fundraising year ever, raising $16.6 million from 444 donors in fiscal year 2023. That total includes the biggest gift in the school’s history–$13 million given by philanthropists Joanne and Bill Conway through their Bedford Falls Foundation donor advised fund. Gifts also led to the creation of several new scholarships (Virginia Anderson Call Nursing Scholarship, Dr. Beauty D. Crummette Nursing Scholarship, Martha and Mark Collier Scholarship Fund, Sentara Scholarship, and Sentara Emergency Fund), a fund supporting academic resources for students (Nursing Student Success Fund) and a fund to explore workforce pipeline development opportunities in the school (Conway Innovation Challenge).
It was all smiles for 230 students who donned the VCU School of Nursing vest in two ceremonies earlier in the year. Vests replaced white coats in many nursing programs to align with the “bare below the elbows” movement, aimed at promoting infectious disease control.
Jane Chung, Ph.D., and Amy Salisbury, Ph.D., were named as inaugural National/International Recognition Award recipients this past fall. The new annual award honors VCU faculty members who have been nationally or internationally recognized for exceptional accomplishments.
During National Nurses Week 2023, the school honored four outstanding alumni for their excellence in practice, leadership, research, and advocacy in nursing. Hampton H. Ford (B.F.A. ‘88, B.S. ’13, M.S. ’15) (Outstanding Recent Alum Award), Jo Lynne W. Robins (M.S. ’91, Ph.D. ’99) (Outstanding Nurse Alum Award), Margaret R. Krebs (B.S. ’99, M.S. ’00, Cert. ’07) (Outstanding Nurse Practice Award) and Katherine M. Lee (B.S. ’90, M.S. ’96) (Outstanding Nurse Service Award) were recognized for their achievements at the forefront of the nursing profession, providing compassionate and effective care to patients and communities, advocating for healthcare policies that improve outcomes, and leading innovative research that advances nursing practice.
Stephan Davis, D.N.P., M.H.S.A., FACHE, FAAN, was named associate dean of inclusive excellence and belonging for the School of Nursing. He is celebrated as a national champion of inclusion and belonging, most recently as a recipient of the Teaching Excellence Award for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Social Justice by the Association of University Programs in Health Administration. Davis also serves on the American Academy of Nursing Diversity & Inclusivity Committee.
