2010 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars

Bradley White	Gary Dennis	Taylor Clark	Barbara Gross

Through the RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program, scholarships in the amount of $10,000 have been awarded to 4 new nursing students in the second-degree baccalaureate program who started their nursing studies in fall ‘10. An additional 4 scholarships will be awarded to new second degree students who start their course of study in the Summer ’11 class. Award preference is given to students from groups underrepresented in nursing or from disadvantaged backgrounds. Grant funding is also used by the College of Nursing to help leverage new faculty resources and provide mentoring and leadership development resources to ensure successful program completion by scholarship recipients.

The RWJF New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program supports accelerated and second degree programs, which offer the most efficient route to licensure as a registered nurse for adults who have already completed a baccalaureate or graduate degree in a discipline other than nursing. Although enrollment in these programs has steadily increased over the past few years, many potential students are unable to enroll since already having a college degree disqualifies them for receiving most federal financial aid programs for entry-level students. The New Careers in Nursing scholarships address this problem, and will also address the overall nursing shortage, by enabling hundreds of students to launch their nursing careers through accelerated education.