COLLEGE OF
NURSING
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
ANNUAL REPORT 2023-2024
COLLEGE LEADERSHIP
MARY LOU SOLE
PhD, RN, CCNS, CNL, FAAN, FCCM
Dean, Orlando Health Endowed Chair in Nursing and UCF Pegasus Professor
MINDI ANDERSON
PhD, APRN, CPNP-PC, CNE, CHSE-A, CHSOS, ANEF, FSSH, FAAN
Associate Dean for Simulation and Immersive Learning, Professor, Healthcare Simulation Graduate Program Director
NORMA CONNER
PhD, RN, FNAP
Associate Dean for Academic Excellence and Professor
SUSAN MAC LEOD DYESS
PhD, RN, AHN-BC, NE-BC
Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor
KRISTINE GAUTHIER
PhD, MPH, PNP-PCBC
Assistant Dean for Clinical Affairs and Clinical Professor
CARMEN GIURGESCU
PhD, RN, WHNP, FAAN
Associate Dean of Research, Chatlos Foundation Endowed Chair in Nursing and Professor
MONA SHATTELL
PhD, RN, FAAN
Chair for Department of Nursing Systems, Hugh F. and Jeannette G. McKean
Endowed Chair in Nursing and Professor
SHARON J. TUCKER
PhD, RN, PMHCNS-BC, NC-BC, EBP-C, NFAP, FAAN
Chair for Department of Nursing Practice and Professor
JESSICA SIMMONS
’07MA ’11EdD
Assistant Dean of Students
Managing Editor
Meghan Truhett
Writer
Julie Harper ’01
Contributing Photographer Dana Weisman
Published August 2024. Data in this report is for the UCF 2023/2024 academic year, which includes Summer 2023, Fall 2023, and Spring 2024 unless otherwise noted.
OUR VISION: TO LEAD THE CHARGE IN TRANSFORMING GLOBAL HEALTH THROUGH INNOVATIVE EDUCATION, RESEARCH, AND PRACTICE.
COVER PHOTO Construction at the Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion. (Photo: Dana Weisman)
A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
As the building for the Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion is underway on UCF’s Academic Health Sciences Campus in Lake Nona, UCF College of Nursing is also building for the future.
Our achievements in the 2023/2024 academic year showcase UCF’s unwavering commitment to excellence, innovation, and student success in order to positively impact the health of our communities.
Among the highlights for the 2023/2024 academic year:
• Received continued community support from donors and partners for the Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion where UCF will be able to educate more Knight nurses to address the nursing shortage.
• Leveraged faculty expertise to help solve healthcare challenges through innovation and collaboration as one of the nation’s top 5 Most Innovative public universities according to U.S. News & World Report
• Supported student success and prepared students for practice, from the classroom to clinical learning in simulation, healthcare facilities and global experiences, demonstrating why UCF is one of the nation’s best nursing programs from the BSN to the DNP.
We’ve achieved all of this and more thanks to the dedication of our faculty and staff, the support of our alumni and partners, and the commitment of our students to reach for the stars. At UCF College of Nursing, we will continue to “Charge On” to ensure a healthier, brighter for all.
MARY LOU SOLE PhD, RN, CCNS, CNL, FAAN, FCCM Dean, UCF College of Nursing
Orlando
Health Endowed Chair in Nursing
UCF
Pegasus Professor, UCF’s Highest Faculty Honor
STUDENT SUCCESS
MAKING A PURPOSEFUL IMPACT IN PUBLIC HEALTH
At UCF, Rebekah May ’24BSN received the highest student honor, co-founded a human rights clinic in Central Florida, nationally presented independent research, and actively engaged in community service. Now she has plans to become a nurse leader on a global scale.
TOP HONOR ONCE AGAIN FOR STUDENT NURSES’ ASSOCIATION
UCF Orlando's Student Nurses' Association once again earned the top honor from the National Student Nurses' Association, the five-year Stellar Chapter designation. Thanks to philanthropic giving, UCF also had stellar participation with more than 60 students in attendance at the national convention.
GRAD’S PROJECT SPARKS LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR HEALTH SYSTEM
As a patient and nurse, Karenna Thatcher ’17MSN ’23DNP knows firsthand the power of empathy in healthcare and is using that insight to help enhance the patient experience at one of the nation’s largest healthcare systems.
TOTAL GRANT FUNDING RECEIVED
31
TOTAL AWARDS
$3.29 MILLION
9
INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AWARDS
STUDENT RESEARCH ACTIVITY
27
72
3
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
GRADUATE RESEARCH
POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH
#21
AMONG PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES FOR PRODUCING PATENTS
#35
AMONG U.S. NURSING SCHOOLS FOR NIH FUNDING
NOTABLE RESEARCH
THE POTENTIAL OF PRECISION HEALTH IN PREVENTING PRETERM BIRTHS
An innovative new study led by a UCF expert examines epigenetic aging in Black pregnant women to reduce disparities and improve birth outcomes. Associate Dean of Research Carmen Giurgescu is leading the five-year $3.3 million NIH study, which is also examining whether social stressors are changing the DNA of Black pregnant women, influencing their biological age and accelerating aging.
bit.ly/UCFCGiurgescu
GAME MIMICS REALITY TO IMPROVE LIFE FOR OLDER ADULTS WITH CANCER
A team led by UCF College of Nursing
Endowed Professor Victoria Loerzel ’07PhD was awarded a $2.5 million grant to test an innovative educational intervention for older adults with cancer that simulates symptoms after chemotherapy treatment and selfmanagement of symptoms at home.
bit.ly/Loerzel
MIXING REALITIES FOR MORE REALISTIC TRAUMA TRAINING
A patented innovation developed by UCF researchers brings the virtual and physical worlds together to enhance healthcare training for trauma and casualty care. The multisensory wound simulation was developed by Endowed Chair Gregory Welch and a team of experts at UCF, including global healthcare simulation expert Mindi Anderson and Associate Professor Frank Guido-Sanz (pictured on left)
bit.ly/SmartMoulage
FUNDING FUTURE KNIGHT NURSES
$340K+ TOTAL SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED 177 AWARDS } TO 139 STUDENTS
$1M+ $30K+
FLORIDA BLUE FOUNDATION GIFTS
The gifts will help UCF address barriers to health and support an endowed professorship in the College of Nursing.
bit.ly/UCFFLBlue
NEW SCHOLARSHIPS:
• Chrioni E. Lenertz Memorial Endowed Scholarship
• Ernest and Virginia Sage Endowed Scholarship
• Gabriela Grace Endowed Memorial Scholarship
TO SUPPORT GLOBAL HEALTH
Experiences (see p. 15)
• Casey Smith Endowed Nursing Scholarship
• Ashleigh Victoria Munro Memorial Endowed Scholarship
• Jayne Willis Nursing Leadership Endowed Scholarship
BREAKING GROUND, BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
The Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion is taking shape on UCF’s Academic Health Sciences Campus in Lake Nona. See the progress below since the groundbreaking in mid-January 2024. The building is anticipated to open in Fall 2025.
FACULTY EXCELLENCE
New Honoree
Carmen Giurgescu Sigma International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame
New Fellows
Kelly Allred ’07PhD
Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice in Nursing (FNAP)
Jean Davis ’19PhD
Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice in Nursing (FNAP)
Ladda Thiamwong Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) and Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice in Nursing (FNAP)
75 FULL-TIME FACULTY
61 FULL-TIME FACULTY WITH DOCTORAL DEGREES
6 ENDOWED CHAIRS
3 SIGMA INTERNATIONAL NURSE RESEARCHER HALL OF FAME HONOREES FELLOWS
21 NATIONAL
8 FELLOWS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NURSING
SIMULATION LEADER
Simulation, Technology, Innovation and Modeling Center
11,000+
CONTACT HOURS FOR SIMULATION-BASED EXPERIENCES
11
SIMULATION CERTIFICATIONS (CHSE, CHSE-A, CHSOS, CHSOS-A)
4 CERTIFIED TELEHEALTH EDUCATORS
PREPARING FOR PRACTICE
Partnerships Expand to Prepare Practice-ready Nurses
Launched in Fall 2023, dedicated education units (DEUs) at UCF Pegasus Partners AdventHealth and Orlando Health are strengthening the front line to improve the health of the community. In the last academic year, there have been 259 student experiences in the new kind of clinical rotation.
New Online Certificate to Build Culturally Congruent Care
UCF’s Hispanic Serving Healthcare Professionals online graduate certificate program launched in Fall 2023. The interdisciplinary program equips students to provide culturally congruent care to improve patient outcomes for Hispanic and Latino communities.
SERVICE LEARNING
Gaining Perspective in Mexico
Through a study abroad opportunity to Chiapas, Mexico, UCF nursing students learned valuable global lessons in interdisciplinary collaboration and health disparities.
17 UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES IN
5 COUNTIES
30K HOURS OF SERVICE
BREVARD
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
