The William Randolph Hearst Foundations recently awarded the UNC Charlotte School of Nursing (SON) in the College of Health and Human Services a $100,000 grant to support diverse and minority graduate students enrolled in its Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs.
While approximately 31 percent of North Carolina’s population consists of racial minority groups, only 11.9 percent of state registered nurses represent ethnic minorities. With the scholarship support provided by the Hearst Foundations, the School of Nursing can recruit and retain students from underrepresented minority groups and increase the diversity of nurses who deliver advanced nursing care.
“As the diversity of the student body in the School of Nursing continues to increase, offering scholarship funding for recruitment and retention of our graduate students becomes paramount in our efforts to assist in preparation of a diverse nursing workforce,” said Dee Baldwin, associate dean and director of the School of Nursing.
The grant builds on the success of the William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship Fund, established in 2005, Baldwin noted. The SON will award the scholarship each year to students enrolled in the graduate nursing programs.
“We are grateful for the investment the Hearst Foundations have made to support diversity in the graduate nursing programs and in the field of nursing,” Baldwin said.
The SON recently announced the approval of its new DNP program, a partnership with Western Carolina University, slated to begin in fall 2013. The Hearst Foundations grant will provide critical support for students enrolled in this advanced practice degree program, which prepares graduates with the leadership skills to improve patient safety, quality of care, and healthcare delivery systems.
The Hearst Foundations are national philanthropic resources for organizations and institutions working in the education, health, culture, and social service fields. The Foundations’ goal is to ensure that people of all backgrounds have the opportunity to build healthy, productive, and inspiring lives. Since their inception in the 1940s, the Foundations have made more than 19,000 grants totaling more than $925 million.