Eight UMSON Faculty Members Awarded More Than $700K to Expand Nursing Education Capacity in Maryland

Baltimore, Md. – Seven University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) faculty members have been named Maryland state New Nurse Faculty Fellows, and one has been awarded a Nurse Educator Doctoral Grant (NEDG) for Practice and Dissertation Research.

These awards are part of the Nurse Support Program II, a statewide initiative funded by the Health Services Cost Review Commission and administered by the Maryland Higher Education Commission.

New Nurse Faculty Fellowship

The New Nurse Faculty Fellowship is for new nursing faculty members and helps cover the expenses of their graduate education. It was designed to assist Maryland nursing schools and academic programs with recruiting and retaining new nursing faculty required to educate the nursing graduates Maryland’s hospitals and health systems need. The following UMSON faculty received the maximum award amount of $100,000 for fiscal years 2026 - 2031, assuming continuous employment as faculty in good standing:

• Yanka Campbell, DNP, MSN ’17, RN, AGPCN-BC, CNE, assistant professor
• Yvonne Douglas, DNP, CRNA, CNE, assistant professor
• Leslie Greenberg, DNP, MBA, MSN ’04, RN, CCRP, OCN, assistant professor
• Yvette Hammond, MSN ’19, RN, clinical instructor
• Heather Johnson, DNP ’20, BSN ’08, CRNP, assistant professor
• Lee Moore, DNP, MEd, APRN, PMHNP-BC, CNE, assistant professor
• Lyn Starrs-Zorn, PhD, CRNP (A/AC), CWS, CNOR, assistant professor

NEDG for Practice and Dissertation Research

Tolvalyn Dennison, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BC, CNE, clinical instructor, received an NEDG, which provides funding to nurse faculty currently enrolled in or who have recently completed a doctoral degree and helps cover costs associated with their graduate education. These awards are contingent upon degree completion and employment as a faculty member.

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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