Accolades and Accomplishments Fall 2019

Published Sep 26, 2019 by
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Students

  • Tabitha Dew won the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner program’s Distinguished Graduate Award
  • Beta Nu Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International was selected as a recipient of the 2019 Chapter Key Award. The chapter will receive the award as a 14-time recipient at the Chapter Awards Recognition Event on Monday, Nov. 18.
  • PhD student Chandra Speight received the Mary Lewis Wyche Fellowship.

Faculty and Staff

  • Dr. Michelle Skipper, director of the ECU College of Nursing’s doctor of nursing practice program, was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) at the AANP annual meeting on June 20 in Indianapolis. Dr. Skipper will also be inducted into the Gallery of Distinguished Alumni at Gardner-Webb on Oct. 12.
  • Faculty member Dr. LeeAnn Jarrett-Johnson was selected to receive one of five Lung Cancer Research Fellowship Grants awarded by the Lung Cancer Initiative of North Carolina.
  • Dr. Charleen McNeill — assistant director of the PhD program and the first woman to hold a combat arms military occupational specialty in the US Army — was the guest speaker at the Women’s Equality Day observance at Fort Bragg in August. Her remarks complemented the theme of the event: “Visionary Women: Champions of Peace and Non-Violence,” which honored women who have served and are currently serving in the armed forces.
  • Faculty members in the advanced nursing practice and education department Dr. Holly Wei and Dr. Tomika Williams were elected as members at large for the North Carolina Nurses Association in their September election.
  • Assistant professor in the advanced nursing practice and education department Dr. Cheryl Kovar was among 100 recipients selected by a review committee of Public Health Nursing (PHN) peers from across the state to receive the 100 Distinguished Public Health Nurses in NC award, and is one of only seven public health nursing educators selected. The awards are part of the 100 Years of the Office of Public Health Nursing in NC centennial celebrations.
  • Dr. Holly Wei received a $25,000 grant from the CCI Research Foundation for her study “The Association of Nurse Perceived Stress, Burnout and a Novel Biomarker Telomerase.” Dr. Wei also received the Leininger Culture Care Scholarship Award from the International Association for Human Caring.
  • Faculty members Dr. Lee Ann Jarrett-Johnson, Dr. Kim Larson, Dell Hagwood, Dr. Carlos Melendez, Dr. Holly Mathews (Anthropology), and alumna Dr. Janet Moye received the Hillman Serious Illness & End of Life Emergent Innovation Grant.
  • Faculty member Misty Brown was selected for the ECU Leadership Academy.
  • Professor Dr. Susan Kennerly, Co-investigator with Tracy Yap (Duke University School of Nursing) received a R01 Administrative Supplement award funded by the National Institute of Aging for “Influence of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Among Obese and Non-Obese Nursing Home Residents on Movement Patterns and Repositioning.”
  • Dr. Alta Andrews secured a $10,000 Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) grant for clinical site development in partnership with Carolina Family Health Center, Inc. of Wilson. Pre-licensure BSN and ABSN students in community health rotations will be centered in the Wilson clinic, with plans to expand to Carolina Family Health Center’s Tarboro and Elm City clinics in the coming years.
  • Dr. Annette Peery, Becky Jordan and Melissa Wallace received a NC AHEC Educational Mobility grant for $55,300. This program will expand off-campus RN/BSN and MSN enrollment in rural and underserved areas of the state where additional academic support services are needed for student success.

Alumni Accolades & Notes

  • Distinguished Alumna and Hall of Fame member Dr. Annette Wysocki (BSN ‘78, MSN ‘80) became the Dean of the Stony Brook University School of Nursing in August.
  • Several alumni were elected into leadership positions within the North Carolina Nurses Association, announced in September. They include: president-elect Meka Dahvia Douthit (MSN 2010), secretary/treasurer Ryan Lewis (BSN 2008, MSN 2012), and member at large Dr. Al Anderson (BSN 2002, PhD 2017).
  • Nine ECU Nursing alumni were named as recipients of the 100 Distinguished Public Health Nurses in NC award. They include: Myra Allen ’81, Theresa Carpenter ’01, Jennifer Dennis ’01, Lucy Heffelfinger ’13, Elizabeth Junak ’04, Jennifer Manning ’09, Lydia Monk ’89, Elizabeth Rodriguez ’17 and Carol Lynn Rose ’12.
  • Kenneth Farmer (BSN ’04, MSN ’09) opened Pleasure Island Health urgent care clinic in Carolina Beach.
  • Scott Eldridge (’03) is actively involved with Mercyships, a non-governmental organization that uses hospital ships to deliver health care to regions where clean water, electricity, medical facilities and personnel is limited or nonexistent.