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Baltimore, Md. – Susan L. Bindon, DNP ’11, MS ’96, RN, NPD-BC, CNE, CNE-cl, FAAN, associate professor, associate dean for faculty development, and director of both the Institute for Educators and the Teaching in Nursing and Health Professions Certificate at the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON), has been recognized with a 2023 University System of Maryland (USM) Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, the highest honor that the USM Board of Regents bestows. Her selection is recognition of her outstanding accomplishments related to teaching excellence. Bindon was presented with the award during the public session of the full Board of Regents meeting on April 14. Bindon has served as the School’s inaugural associate dean for faculty development since 2021; her appointment is testament to her standing as an exemplary nurse educator, role model, and coach for faculty not only at UMSON, but throughout the state of Maryland. She is described as a “true teacher’s teacher,” focusing on nurse educator development, faculty professional development, learning engagement, and mentorship.  Bindon’s work addresses ongoing nursing workforce challenges locally, statewide, and nationally; the necessity of increasing enrollments in schools of nursing requires expanding the number of nurse educators well prepared to teach and mentor the next generation of nurses in the classroom and in clinical settings. Bindon has worked to elevate nursing education as a practice specialty in both academic and professional practice settings and has focused on mentoring faculty to improve teaching, with a focus on effective teaching to meet the needs of today’s learners. “My deep and abiding commitment is to students and faculty and to excellent, innovative teaching,” Bindon said. “My mission is to teach at the highest possible level and to help others do the same. Great teachers attract great students, who then make great contributions to patient care and other vital areas of nursing. I teach about teaching. Developing the competency of nurse educators and influencing generations of learning is my professional goal and love.” As director of UMSON’s Institute for Educators, Bindon bridges academic and clinical education, drawing from her own faculty practice in nursing professional development at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Her work supports the dual mission of the institute: to prepare future nurse educators throughout the state while offering ongoing education and professional development for UMSON’s own faculty and other educators. Her hallmark is utilizing a variety of creative approaches to designing and delivering education. UMSON’s graduate Teaching in Nursing and Health Professions Certificate, which Bindon also directs, prepares nurses for educator roles, ensuring they have the knowledge and skills to work effectively in academic and practice settings, whether in person or online. Bindon has received multiple grant awards through the Nurse Support Program II, funded by the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission and administered by the Maryland Higher Education Commission, focused on preparing and developing clinical nursing faculty across the state. Products of these grants have become components of essential faculty development statewide, including workshops that utilize standardized students (professional actors who portray students) to provide simulated experiences for faculty to practice their skills in guiding student learning in a safe environment. These workshops have prepared more than 450 faculty to teach nursing students in clinical settings.  “We congratulate Dr. Susan Bindon on this prestigious honor,” said Jane Kirschling, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Bill and Joanne Conway Dean of the University of Maryland School of Nursing. “One of the tremendous challenges facing academic nursing is transitioning our educational model to suit a new generation of learners and doing so at a time when highly experienced faculty are moving into retirement. We need our next generation of great educational leaders, and Dr. Bindon has demonstrated her capacity for this through her teaching excellence, her innovative projects to expand Maryland’s cadre of well-prepared nursing faculty, her service at the national level, and her research on and dissemination of best practices.”  Bindon joined UMSON as an assistant professor in the Institute for Educators in 2011 and was promoted to associate professor in 2019. Prior to her current role, Bindon served as director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Post-Master’s option from 2018, overseeing the core DNP curriculum and providing support to DNP students and faculty.  She is a leader within the profession at the national level, having held multiple roles in the Association for Nursing Professional Development, including president, president-elect, and, currently, past president. She was co-editor-in-chief of the Journal for Nurses in Professional Development and is currently an editorial board member and an ongoing peer reviewer for the Journal of Professional Nursing. Her podcasts and webinars have been viewed widely and her peer-reviewed publications cited in multiple countries and languages. Bindon holds national certification from the National League for Nurses as a Certified Nurse Educator and as a Certified Nurse Educator, Clinical and from the American Nurses Credentialing Center in Nursing Professional Development. She was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2022. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania and her Master of Science, Certificate in Teaching in Nursing and Health Professions, and DNP from UMSON. ### The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools in the nation and is ranked among the top nursing schools nationwide. Enrolling nearly 2,100 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.

Excitement abounded May 18 as the graduates of the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) Class of 2023 celebrated their many accomplishments with family and friends, though it was also a time for reflection on how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted their early studies and bonded them with their classmates. Students who gathered outside Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena on the campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County were elated to be able to attend UMB’s commencement, the second in-person ceremony since the pandemic started in 2020. “COVID in general just changed a lot of things. It changed how the schools operate, and then also with the clinical setting how we approach medicine,” said Chelsea Howell, DNP ’23, who earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Maryland School of Nursing. “To be able to celebrate with everybody is amazing because virtual graduations aren’t the same. And it’s nice to just be able to see everybody.” Read More

Baltimore, Md. –  Friends and family of the Class of 2023 gathered on a beautiful day under blue skies to celebrate the accomplishments of 464 graduates at the University of Maryland School of Nursing’s (UMSON) Convocation ceremony, May 18 at UMBC Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore County, Maryland. During the ceremony, 216 Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees, 98 master’s degrees, 141 Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees, 4 Doctor of Philosophy degrees, and 16 certificates were conferred. “Very few professions afford you the privilege of having as significant an impact on the lives of individuals, families, and communities as nursing does,” said Jane Kirschling, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Bill and Joanne Conway Dean of the University of Maryland School of Nursing, in her opening remarks. “On behalf of the School, I hope you will be as happy and fulfilled in your nursing careers as I have been.” As a special tribute and surprise to Kirschling, who will soon retire after more than 10 years as UMSON’s dean, a four-member pipe and drum band led this year’s ceremony. She had remarked over the years how nice it would be to have bagpipes kicking off the festivities. Kirschling received a standing ovation after University of Maryland, Baltimore President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, thanked her for her dedicated commitment to the School.  “This is an exciting day for all of you,” he told the graduates. “I hope that you appreciate you live, work, and study in a terrific school with terrific faculty, terrific staff, terrific fellow students. You also work in a school that has a terrific dean. We have been comrades in arms in many ways. I hope you will all show her your appreciation with more than a round of applause.” Student speaker Sarah Khan, a BSN graduate, congratulated her fellow students for staying true to their path despite challenges and obstacles. “I know that when many of us started, we could not envision the road ahead,” she said. “The speed bumps and potholes, the tiny curves and unexpected crashes. Despite all of this, I can say it’s been one hell of a ride. “As we go forth in our careers, I urge you to embrace the steady passage of time. Embrace the baby steps and the big leaps, the winding roads and the scenic routes, but also embrace the world, for without it, it is impossible to reach your highest potential.” During the ceremony, the 2023 Dean’s Medal for Distinguished Service, which each year recognizes someone external to the School who has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to advancing UMSON and its mission, was presented to retired faculty member Mary Etta Mills, ScD, MS ’73, BSN ’71, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. Mills is the sixth recipient of the Dean’s Medal, which each year is hand crafted by Jarrell, an accomplished metal artisan. Mills joined the School of Nursing in 1988 as an associate professor and was promoted to professor in 2005. She retired in June 2022 after a distinguished career, during which she held numerous academic leadership positions, including chair of the Department of Education, Administration, Health Policy, and Informatics and associate dean for academic affairs. She also served as interim dean of the School from September 2019 to January 2020. While at UMSON, she developed what became the first master’s program in nursing informatics in the nation in 1998 and the first doctoral program in nursing informatics in the world in 1991. Earlier in the day, the Honorable Shirley Ann Nathan-Pulliam, DHL (Hon.), MAS, BSN ’80, RN, FAAN, received the degree of Honorary Doctor of Public Service from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, during the University’s commencement ceremony. This degree is conferred by the president of the University on behalf of the chancellor of the University System of Maryland upon the approval of the system’s Board of Regents. Senator Nathan-Pulliam was nominated for this honor by Kirschling. The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Students was awarded to Nia Koolman, a graduate of the BSN program, and to Michal Gold, a graduate of the Clinical Nurse Leader master’s option. DAISY awards are given each fall and spring to two graduating entry-into-practice students who demonstrate outstanding compassion and care to patients and their families. Kirschling sent the graduates forth saying, “Today, we launch you out into the world with a mission to do good, endowed with the necessary expertise. We wish you success! Make no mistake: You hold the future in your hands!” ### The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools in the nation and is ranked among the top nursing schools nationwide. Enrolling nearly 2,100 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.