BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) has awarded a Nurse Educator Fellowship to Illinois Wesleyan University Professor of Nursing Connie Dennis. The competitive Fellowship is a $10,000 award recognizing those who make significant contributions to nursing education.
“It is an honor to receive the Fellowship, and signifies the importance of rewarding faculty development in the field of nursing,” said Dennis, a member of the IWU faculty since 1973. “I hope to be a strong advocate for nursing professors and undergraduate programs in nursing.”
The Fellowship is one of 15 awarded across the state, meant to supplement full-time nursing faculty salaries and to assist with professional development and continuing education expenses. Dennis plans to continue developing curriculum for nursing students in caring for people of other cultures. “I’m looking to further develop teaching strategies to promote transcultural competency in nursing,” said Dennis, who has consulted with nursing colleges in Mexico and has taught a transcultural course focusing on health care for Asian-Pacific Islanders and the use of complementary/integrative medicine.
This is the second Nurse Educator Fellowship the IBHE has granted Illinois Wesleyan in the first two years of the fellowship initiative. In 2006, Associate Professor of Nursing Sharie Metcalfe received a Fellowship. “It says a lot about Illinois Wesleyan that we are recognized for our good faculty, and our efforts to promote teaching,” said Dennis.