Pace University Awarded Grant from Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare to Fund Doctoral Nursing Students

NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Lienhard School of Nursing in the College of Health Professions at Pace University, announced today that with a new grant of $40,000 from the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare it will fund the scholarship of four doctoral nursing students in 2016.

Pace University will provide a match in the form of a graduate assistantship (including tuition remission and stipend) valued at a minimum of $5,000 per year for two years for each DNP student selected to receive the Jonas Nurse Leader award (i.e., for four scholars, a total match of $20,000 minimum each year for two years).

As a recipient of the Jonas Center grant, Pace University is part of a national effort to stem the faculty shortage and prepare the next generation of nurses – critical as a clinical nurse shortage is anticipated just as an aging population requires care.

The Pace University Jonas Scholars join more than 1,000 future nurse educators and leaders at 140 universities across all 50 states supported by Jonas Center programs, the Jonas Nurse Leaders Scholars Program and Jonas Veterans Healthcare Program (JVHP). These scholarships support nurses pursuing PhDs and DNPs, the terminal degrees in the field.

"We are very pleased that the College of Health Professions at Pace was included in this round of Jonas funding," said Harriet R. Feldman, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean and professor of the College of Health Professions and the Lienhard School of Nursing at Pace. "We greatly value the Foundation's support for our very deserving students who are on a quest to advance their already established careers through quality education."

As the nation's leading philanthropic funder of graduate nursing education, the Jonas Center is addressing the critical need for qualified nursing faculty. U.S. nursing schools turned away nearly 70,000 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2014 due in large part to an insufficient number of faculty[i]. Further, nearly two-thirds of registered nurses over age 54 say they are considering retirement[ii].

"In 2008, we set an ambitious goal to support 1,000 Jonas Nurse Scholars. This year, on our Center's 10^th anniversary, we celebrate this achievement and are amazed by the talent of this cohort of future nurse leaders," said Donald Jonas, who co-founded the Center with Barbara Jonas, his wife. "In the decade to come, we look forward to continuing to work with our partner nursing schools and to the great impact that the Jonas Scholars will have on improving healthcare around the world."

"We are again honored to have our outstanding students and program recognized by the Jonas Foundation," said Jason Slyer, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, FNAP, Pace Clinical Assistant Professor and Program Director, Doctor of Nursing Practice Programs. "Our two prior Jonas scholars recently completed their project to increase the awareness of the need for nursing presence in leadership positions and on non-nursing boards."

This current opportunity will allow four more DNP students to promote clinical leadership development to support the Jonas Foundation's goals. Two of these scholarships will be awarded to students who are US veterans and will be used to develop projects aimed at improving veterans' health, a goal jointly supported by Pace and the Jonas Foundation. Pace's DNP program, in alignment with the Jonas Foundation, will continue to support increased diversity in the healthcare workforce while promoting leadership to improve care for the populations nurses serve.

The Pace University Jonas Scholars will be selected from the current cohort of DNP students and will be supported through 2018.

About the College of Health Professions

The College of Health Professions was established in 2010 in an effort to showcase and expand health professions majors at Pace University. The College is made up of the Lienhard School of Nursing, the Pace University-Lenox Hill Hospital Physician Assistant Studies Department, and the Department of Health Studies (which includes the Communication Sciences and Disorders program along with the Bachelor of Science in Health Science. Additional programs in Health Studies are currently in development). The College's vision is innovative leadership in education, practice, and scholarship for the health professions, and its mission is to educate and challenge students for the health professions to be innovators and leaders who will positively impact global health care.

About Pace University

Since 1906, Pace University has educated thinking professionals by providing high quality education for the professions on a firm base of liberal learning amid the opportunities for professional experiences offered by the New York metropolitan area. A private university, Pace has campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, enrolling nearly 13,000 students in bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs in its Lubin School of Business, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, College of Health Professions, School of Education, School of Law, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems.

[i] American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2014-2015 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing 
[ii] AMN Healthcare, 2015 Survey of Registered Nurses: Viewpoints on Retirement, Education and Emerging Roles 

SOURCE Pace University