EdD for Nurse Educators at The University of Alabama

Congratulations to the newly appointed Dr. Sondra Wilder on a successful dissertation defense this morning! Sondra's dissertation is titled: Nursing Faculty’s Awareness and Knowledge About Suicidality in Black Nursing Students: A Qualitative Interview.

Welcome to our newest class, Cohort 16! These students are joining us from Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas.

Congratulations to Bridget Rogers, Cohort 10, on receiving a National Research Grant from the Organization for Associate Degree Nursing! Under the guidance of her chair, Dr. Paige Johnson, Bridget is working on her dissertation: The Impact of Clinical Worst-Case-Scenarios on Associate Degree Registered Nursing Students' Clinical Judgement.

This weekend, Cohort 6 gathered on campus to celebrate their 10 year reunion of starting our program! Cohort 6 was comprised of 12 students who graduated from our program. We love seeing how cohorts remain close even after graduation!

“The UA community is deeply saddened by the passing of our friend, Dr. Autherine Lucy Foster,” said UA President Dr. Stuart R. Bell. “While we mourn the loss of a legend who embodied love, integrity and a spirit of determination, we are comforted by knowing her legacy will continue at The University of Alabama and beyond. We were privileged to dedicate Autherine Lucy Hall in her honor just last week and to hear her words of encouragement for our students. Dr. Foster will always be remembered as one who broke barriers, reminded us of the respect due to every individual and lived a life of strength in steadfast service to her students and community.”

A look back on Dr. Foster’s legacy at UA: https://news.ua.edu/2022/03/remembering-autherine-lucy-foster/

Meet Michelle Rogers! Michelle works in Huntsville, AL at a 2-year community college as a nursing instructor. She joined us last fall as a part of Cohort 15. Her favorite part of the program so far is the willingness of instructors to guide you through and assist you along the way toward achieving your academic endeavors. She also appreciates the fact we have an opportunity to for students to reach out to past cohorts to network and communicate with each other. In her free time, Michelle enjoys outdoor activities, spending time with family and going on adventures.

Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Stephanie Clark is a graduate of Cohort 7 and currently serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of North Alabama. When asked how receiving this degree has helped her career, Dr. Clark stated, “It has prepared me to be an educator who seeks out and embraces innovative teaching/learning methods and employs them in both classroom and online settings. It has prepared me to be confident in making curricular revisions when needed and designing new courses for two newly developed programs within our college. It has also given me a solid foundation in nursing research, which I am not only accountable to perform in the tenure track, but which I also have come to appreciate and enjoy.” Her advice for students is, “Know that the end will come, you will defend your dissertation, and you will walk across that stage in that gorgeous gown and hood before you know it. The time will pass anyway, but whether you have Dr. in front of your name after that time passes is completely up to you! Find something you are passionate about early in the program, and begin writing all assignments you can on that topic, gathering resources and considering related aspects of research interests as you go. When it comes time to prepare for your prospectus, you should have a tremendous amount of the legwork done, and the rest will easily fall into place. Don’t consider the dissertation the dreaded part, consider it the fun part…it’s what you’ve worked so hard to get to do!”

Are you a UA Online student that wants a chance to win a $500 tuition grant? You can enter by attending the Communicating With Your Professors Workshop TOMORROW‼️ Link to register➡️ bit.ly/CommunicatingWithYourProfessors

Meet Bienve Doyle! Bienve's favorite part of our program is the cohort model and our hybrid meeting schedule. She currently lives in Florida and serves as a Simulationist at Jacksonville University. A fun fact about Bienve is that she has run 3 Marine Marathons! Bienve joined Cohort 15 this past fall - welcome, Bienve!

Congratulations to this year's recipient of the Judy Bonner Award, Jenna Beamer! The Judy Bonner Award recognizes one student who has demonstrated creativity, innovation, and excellence in teaching, dedication to service in the field, and commitment to scholarship to promote excellence in nursing education. Jenna will be recognized for her accomplishments at UA Honor's Day this spring!

Meet Lauren Murphree! Lauren lives in Bruce, MS and is a Practical Nursing Instructor at a community college. Lauren began our program this past fall with Cohort 15. She chose UA because the Ed. D focuses on both education and nursing. Living just two hours away has been a good bonus with the on-campus classes. For Lauren, the best part of the program so far is that we have occasional face-to-face class meetings. Lauren says, "I love meeting new people and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know my classmates." Some fun facts about Lauren are that she is a huge Harry Potter fan, she loves anything fantasy: books, movies etc., and she was selected to play softball in a USA Championship in Hawaii in high school! We're glad to have you, Lauren!