UL Lafayette College of Nursing & Health Sciences

Congratulations to Dr Tricia Templet and Evie Robison on your nomination!

🌟 Congratulations to the Nursing Educator nominees for the 25th Annual Nightingale Awards & Gala! 🌟

The Louisiana Nurses Foundation (LNF) proudly recognizes these outstanding educators for their dedication to shaping the future of nursing through excellence in teaching, mentorship, and leadership.

Thank you for inspiring the next generation of nurses and advancing healthcare across Louisiana. Join us in celebrating these remarkable nominees! 💙✨

Our Regional Simulation Center makes the news! Thank you Senator Gerald Boudreaux👏🤘

The Legislature earmarked $9 million in one-time funding to address UL Lafayette’s budget shortfall. UL had asked for $15 million, insisting the request represents an investment in the university’s future, not a bailout.

“I thank God that we were able to get $9 million,” says Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette. The figure does not cover UL’s remaining $12 million deficit. None of the funds are guaranteed with Gov. Jeff Landry yet to sign off on the budget.

The funds would be spent in fiscal year 2027 with a “focus on university operations and student success priorities,” says university spokesperson Eric Maron.

The $9 million is coming from multiple state sources, including the UL System Board, not as single lump sum.

In all, the state budget includes $288 million for the university, including $55 million in Priority 1 funding, a designation that puts the appropriation at the front of the line.

“The intent is to finish some of those projects that we have had on the books,” says Boudreaux.

This includes the Health Science Campus, which has been in transition since 2023. The university recently confirmed that a regional simulation center for training nursing students will be the next phase of the campus’s development.

thecurrentla.com/2026/legislators-budget-9-million-to-patch-uls-budget/

Congratulations to Dr. Gabriela Wilson, Health Sciences Professor and Director of the Louisiana Center for Health Innovation, on the adoption of House Resolution 267, which calls for LDH and LCHI to collaborate to conduct a statewide study focused on preventing and reducing diabetes-related amputations in Louisiana.

Dr Tricia Templet met with high school students from the AHEC Program to tour our Simulation Center and encourage them to pursue a career in healthcare 🤟

Cocktails and Conversations with the Dean last week. Thanks so much to all who support us as we build our Regional Simulation Center 🤟🤟

Our nursing students enjoying their Study Abroad experience in Spain!! 🇪🇸 Joined by faculty Dr. Jade Hernandez and Dr. Arielle St Romain.

Dean Lisa Broussard traveled to Atlanta to meet with the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation and express appreciation for over 50 years of student scholarships. Development Director Elizabeth Orgeron shared recent college updates. Of particular interest to the Foundation partners was that several of our faculty were LPW recipients as students, including Dean Broussard.

Congratulations, Torin! So well deserved ❤️🩺

Torin Cage is the Outstanding Graduate Finalist for the College of Nursing & Health Sciences. A nursing major, her GPA is 3.54.
Cage earned the Black Faculty & Staff Association Achievement Award.

She was the UL Student Nurses Association’s membership chair and the Acadiana Black Nurses Association’s public relations chair. Cage was also the campus chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ marketing manager.

She presented research about “Legislation and Early S*x Education: STI Prevention Gaps Among College Students” at the University of Louisiana System Academic Summit.

She will work as an oncology nurse and pursue dual certification as a family nurse practitioner and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Her parents are Oliver and Jessica Cage of Magnolia, Mississippi.

As Nurses Week wraps up, we’re proud to see the impact of a partnership built to strengthen healthcare across Acadiana. UL Lafayette and Ochsner Lafayette General’s accelerated nursing program is helping students earn their nursing degrees in just 15 months while removing one of the biggest barriers to entry: cost. Through the program, students receive full tuition coverage, hands-on clinical experience and direct pathways into the workforce.

And the results speak for themselves — including a 100% NCLEX pass rate.

Hear from Karen Wyble, AVP of Academics at Ochsner Lafayette General and alumna, and Ryan Roberts, a graduate of the accelerated nursing program, in this KATC interview about how the program is preparing nurses to serve the communities that need them most.

Watch the interview online at https://bit.ly/3PayVgh.

Make a difference. Become a Nurse Educator. ❤️🩺

The UL Lafayette College of Nursing & Health Sciences is hiring Adjunct Clinical Faculty for Fall 2026! Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and 2+ years of MedSurg experience.

Interested? Send your CV to [email protected].