UAMS Nursing Students Receive Scholarships
| FAYETTEVILLE – Nursing students from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) recently received scholarships for the 2019 spring semester, which were made possible by the Harvey and Bernice Jones Trust for Nursing of Springdale.
The 16 UAMS College of Nursing students, all of whom live and work in Northwest Arkansas, received $2,500 each. The graduate-level nursing students and their families gathered at the Concourse Stage at the Jones Center in Springdale for the scholarship presentation.
Congratulating the students and presenting the scholarships were Patricia Cowen, Ph.D., R.N., dean of the College of Nursing; Pearl McElfish, Ph.D., MBA, vice chancellor of the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus; and Lauren Haggard-Duff, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor in the College of Nursing at the Northwest Campus.
The following students received scholarships, listed with the degrees to which they aspire:
- Elizabeth Burns, M.N.Sc., Family Nurse Practitioner
- Jennifer Becker, D.N.P., Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
- Robert Cluck, M.N.Sc., Family Nurse Practitioner
- Gregory Forrester, M.N.Sc., Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
- Kyla Grant, D.N.P., Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
- Nick Hopkins, M.N.Sc., Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
- Christie Keller, D.N.P., Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
- Sean Kremers, M.N.Sc., Family Nurse Practitioner
- Chelsea Marquis, MN.Sc., Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
- Joshua McKinnon, D.N.P., Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
- Page Newberry, M.N.Sc., Family Nurse Practitioner
- Amanda Potter, M.N.Sc., Family Nurse Practitioner
- Alissa Scherer, M.N.Sc., Family Nurse Practitioner
- Abbey Shields, M.N.Sc., Family Nurse Practitioner
- Kelsey Smith, M.N.Sc., Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
- Diana Torres, M.N.Sc., Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Also in attendance were Lewis Epley and Dan Ferritor (an orginal trustee of the Jones Trust). Additional speakers were Betsy Phillips and Joel Carver, M.D., current trustees of the Jones Trust, who spoke about the Harvey and Bernice Jones legacy.
“Health care was a cornerstone of what Harvey and Bernice believed in,” Carver said. “And education was a focal point of their passion to improve the lives of the people of Northwest Arkansas. Mrs. Jones followed her heart, and she encouraged others to do the same.”
“I know that Mrs. Jones would be thrilled because her dream was to have excellent nursing care in our Northwest Arkansas hospitals and clinics,” Phillips said. “She wanted her legacy to include the advancement of nursing excellence, particularly graduate-level nursing.”
After starting his business in 1918 with just two mules and a wagon, Harvey Jones eventually founded Jones Truck Lines, which became the largest privately owned and operated fleet in America. Throughout their lives, Harvey and Bernice Jones gave back to the entire Northwest Arkansas area, the state of Arkansas and especially the community of Springdale by generously supporting education and health care, among other regional projects.
“I know our students are very grateful to receive these scholarships,” Cowan said. “They already work full and part-time jobs serving our region as nurses as they pursue their graduate-level degrees. Thanks to the Jones Trust for Nursing’s commitment to health care and education, these scholarships will help ease some of their financial obligations.”
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###