This is how breakthroughs happen.
A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
Nursing education is undergoing a profound transformation, one that calls for innovation, collaboration and a commitment to excellence. Today’s nurses must be highly skilled, curious, adaptable and committed to care, so our profession can continue to make a difference in addressing health inequities and shaping the future of health care delivery.
Thank you for your interest in supporting this crucial work. Together, we will ensure that nursing education at UC continues to lead.
ALICIA RIBAR, PhD Dean and Schmidlapp Professor of Nursing College of Nursing
THE NEXT BREAKTHROUGH BEGINS WITH YOU
For more than 130 years, the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing has shaped nurses who blend compassion, critical thinking and clinical expertise to master both the art and science of care.
Today, there is a critical need for nurses at all levels of health care. To meet this need, we are actively growing, accepting and enrolling more qualified applicants to UC and our nationally ranked programs.
At the UC College of Nursing, we are focused on leading through this change, investing in our students, our faculty and our community’s growth to ensure tomorrow’s nurses graduate ready to step into their role as health care leaders.
We will:
• Prepare students for success by growing our academic support and peer tutoring, while expanding financial support resources to alleviate the burden of student debt.
• Reimagine teaching and scholarship through endowed faculty positions and professorships and launch initiatives to drive nursing innovation.
• Advance the health of our community through collaboration with community resources and an expanded partnership with Cincinnati Public Schools.
This is a pivotal moment for the UC College of Nursing. With your support, we will not only train more nurses but create the next leaders in this vitally important field.
“Scholarship funding has been instrumental in supporting both my personal and professional aspirations in the nursing field. It has given me the financial freedom to focus on my coursework and clinical training, helping me build the skills I need to provide compassionate, high-quality care to patients.
On a personal level, it has motivated me to continue striving for excellence and reinforced my commitment to making a meaningful impact in health care and serving my community as a future nurse leader.”
PATRICIA
DENNIS, NUR ‘20, BUS ‘22, NUR ‘27 Doctor of Nursing Practice program
PREPARE STUDENTS FOR SUCCESS
Ensure tomorrow’s nurses are fully supported from day one.
Breakthroughs in health care begin with bold nursing education. As we expand our college to recruit bright future nurses, we have a responsibility to deepen our student-focused initiatives. This means ensuring high-achieving students choose UC, and providing a pathway to eliminating student debt.
Funding priorities:
Scholarship support
Keep students on track through graduation by addressing financial need. In the last five years, the average educational debt for our BSN students has grown to $26,700 roughly double for graduate students. By alleviating financial stress, your support ensures these students can dedicate more energy to their rigorous coursework, clinical experiences and professional development.
Academic support
Hiring professional tutors and an academic support coordinator will extend student support for each level of nursing. We will also launch a peer tutor program, giving students valuable connections to their fellow future nurses and improving retention.
In 2024, Assistant Professor Randi Bates, PhD, received a five-year, $3.4 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to lead a team studying how socio-ecological factors may influence sleep health in young children, and exploring how their stress levels might be measured.
In addition to conducting research, Bates teaches and trains graduate nursing students in research techniques. Bates is one of nearly two dozen faculty members at the College of Nursing who tackle complex health care issues.
REIMAGINE TEACHING AND SCHOLARSHIP
Invest in our expert faculty to drive innovation.
Strategic investment in our faculty, both to retain early career faculty and to recruit national leaders, will grow our research operations, producing new knowledge and providing opportunities for students to receive hands-on research experience.
By investing in faculty innovation, we can accelerate discoveries in nursing science right here in Cincinnati—advancing the profession, strengthening our communities and improving care for patients and families locally and beyond.
Funding priorities:
Endowed faculty chairs and professorships
Named faculty chairs encourage interest from high-level candidates and provide dedicated funding to recruit and retain quality educators.
Nurse innovation center
With a mission to empower nursing professionals to rethink and revolutionize health care practices, we envision a center for nursing innovation that invites chief nursing officers to collaborate and address evolving issues like wearable tech, AI and personalized medicine.
Pilot research and bridge funding
Many large-scale research studies begin with a pilot research grant. These fund awards help researchers generate the preliminary data needed to secure major federal grants. Similarly, bridge funding can help maintain the staff and productivity necessary to keep research studies from going dormant between funding cycles.
Return on investment for pilot and bridge funding is extremely high and also helps us retain talent and resources.
“As an FNP student, I’m learning not only how to treat illness, but how to advocate for people whose voices often go unheard. These experiences have shown me how vital it is to support people beyond the exam room—to see the whole person, not just the patient.”
JASMINE LEWIS, RN, NUR ’27 Family Nurse Practitioner program
Lewis and her grandfather at the oncology clinic where she works.
Photo courtesy of University of Cincinnati.
ADVANCE THE HEALTH AND VITALITY OF THE REGION
Create new opportunities for tomorrow’s nurses.
Partnering with community organizations and with Cincinnati Public Schools allows us to establish a pipeline of opportunity for local students interested in nursing.
Our area partners also provide employment for our students, giving them firsthand experience and shortening the time they need to become proficient in their area of focus.
Funding priorities:
NEXTNurse partnership with Cincinnati Public Schools
This new initiative will allow us to engage three Cincinnati Public Schools locations with health programs to create and map the path to a nursing career.
Pathway and summer programming
With the assistance of local organizations, we aim to create pre-college pathway programs, including summer camps and workshops for high school students interested in pursuing a nursing career.
Community partnerships for workforce pipeline development
Our community partners give student nurses employment opportunities with stipend support. This hands-on training accelerates the period for new nurses to become proficient.
THANK YOU
We are grateful for your thoughtful consideration to support UC’s College of Nursing. Your investment will give our students the best possible academic experience, providing them with the skills, knowledge and expertise to be innovators and leaders in their field and in their community.
Together, we can ensure that nursing remains the cornerstone of compassionate, patient-centered care while driving meaningful, positive change in health care.
CONTACT
Alicia Ribar, PhD
Dean and Schmidlapp Professor of Nursing University of Cincinnati College of Nursing
Alicia.Ribar@uc.edu
513-558-5330
Matt Pearce
Assistant Vice President, Academic Health Center Colleges University of Cincinnati Foundation
Matt.Pearce@foundation.uc.edu
513-524-8462
Daniel Sommers
Assistant Director of Development, Academic Health Center Colleges University of Cincinnati Foundation
Daniel.Sommers@foundation.uc.edu
937-824-0524
