The department received initial approval from the North Carolina Board of Nursing in January 2021 and ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ admitted the first class of accelerated and traditional nursing students in the fall of 2021.

Tiffany Morris, program chair and director, started as the inaugural chair in March of 2021. The inaugural faculty and staff — Jacqueline DeBrew, Jeanmarie Koonts and Anthony Lester — assisted with the development of program policies and procedures and taught the fall semester courses. Additional faculty — Cyra Kussman, Elizabeth Van Horn and Stacey Thomas — joined the team in subsequent semesters to assist with the remaining courses in the curriculum.

Faculty and staff are extremely excited about the results and are proud of the inaugural cohort. The graduating class also has a 100% job placement rate and a 93% graduation rate.

“The accelerated program is fast and furious, rough and rigorous,” said Morris. “Our faculty, staff and students rose to the occasion and completed their journey to becoming an RN with excellence.”

The Department of Nursing expressed gratitude to ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ President Connie Ledoux Book and the entire leadership team for their visionary work in adding a nursing program to ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s programs of study.

Fellows spent the past year further developing their career in four core competencies: Leadership, Scholarship, Building Community Relationships, and High-Impact Teaching & Learning.

Faculty Fellows receive individual and group faculty instruction while completing an Innovative Project. Program participants attended three Fellowship conferences (two virtual and one in-person) throughout the year to develop in the four above mentioned competencies, as well as monthly distance learning webinars.

Morris completed an innovative project titled “Creating a Resource Center for Health Information in the Faith Community” to increase awareness and decrease health disparities in Rockingham County with a focus on COVID-19.

The fellowship is designed for early to mid-career nursing faculty. Fellows gain an opportunity to network with other nursing faculty and receive consultation from expert health professions faculty. They will have access to state-of-the-art materials on professional development, building scholarship, developing cutting edge curricula, and building successful relationships with peers and the community.