Letter from Dr. Stone

Dear Friends,

We began 2020 excited to join in the worldwide celebration of the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife as designated by the World Health Organization. We were greatly anticipating welcoming students as we opened our campus in Versailles, Kentucky. We had just completed a fiveyear strategic plan and were ready to begin the work of our new three-year strategic plan. It promised to be a very exciting and important year at Frontier Nursing University, and it was, but for completely different reasons.

When the COVID-19 Pandemic hit in the spring, like the rest of the world, we encountered challenges we had never foreseen. However, as you will read in this report, FNU remained true to its pioneering character and found a way to pivot efficiently and effectively. Adaptability and innovation are central to our way of work, and it was on full display in our students, alumni, faculty and staff.

Because of the pandemic, we did not open our new campus, but we did complete the renovation and construction. We did not celebrate the Year of the Nurse and Midwife in the way we anticipated, but through the facemasks of our alumni fighting the pandemic on the front lines, we were reminded why it was, indeed, the year of the nurse and the midwife.

As for our new strategic plan, naturally not every goal was met nor was every initiative launched as planned. We did, however, stick to our plan and use it as a guide for our actions throughout the year. One of those goals, which relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion, came to the forefront when issues of racial and social justice, healthcare disparities, and political turmoil became dominant discussions across the country. The events of last year and the ongoing discussions serve as poignant reminders as to why diversity, equity, and inclusion have been a standing part of our strategic plan, both past, and present.

There was much pain and sorrow and fear in 2020, but there was also triumph, bravery, and remarkable achievement. As we look back at 2020 through the FNU lens, I hope you will share our pride in our innovative and supportive faculty and staff. I hope you will be amazed and proud of our undaunted students, who forged ahead even when they had every reason not to. I trust you will share our immense pride in our alumni, who faced unprecedented challenges, who witnessed the deaths of too many patients, who made countless sacrifices in order to answer the call.

I also want to thank our Board of Directors for their time and leadership. Their guidance during these tumultuous times was invaluable. Finally, I want to thank our supporters and donors, who continued to understand the importance of what we do at Frontier Nursing University and demonstrated their ongoing belief in our students and our mission.

We hope you are moved and inspired by the stories that follow in these pages. We evaluate our progress toward our strategic plan goals while acknowledging the impact of the extraordinary circumstances that the entire world faced in 2020. It was a year none of us will ever forget, but let us remember the positives as well as the negatives and build upon those in 2021.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this report and for your ongoing support of Frontier Nursing University.

Sincerely,

Susan E. Stone, DNSc, CNM, FAAN, FACNM President