UMass Boston Receives $1 Million Grant to Recruit Urban Nurse Leaders
Boston, MA (PRWEB) August 14, 2013 -- The University of Massachusetts Boston’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CNHS) has received a $997,556 grant to recruit and retain minority students through a new program: Boston Urban Nurse Leaders in Eliminating Academic Disparities (BUN-LEAD). The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, awarded the grant to CNHS.
Over the next three years, BUN-LEAD will provide tuition assistance, tuition waivers, and mentoring support to CNHS students from ethnic or racial minorities. These students will serve diverse and at-risk populations in Boston’s urban communities. Less than five percent of Massachusetts registered nurses are from ethnic or racial minorities. The BUN-LEAD program is intended to address the economic and academic challenges that many minority students face as they pursue careers in nursing.
CNHS Dean Anahid Kulwicki, who spearheaded the grant application, believes that the BUN-LEAD program will be beneficial to minority students as they work toward their degrees.
“We need more health practitioners who are familiar with underserved and minority communities,” Kulwicki said. “This grant will allow us to create more programs that support minority students in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences and meet the urban mission of the University of Massachusetts Boston.”
Stipends will be made available to 15 eligible students in the first year of the program, and to 20 students in the following two years. The stipends will help nursing students cover general living expenses. Academic scholarships will also be available for eligible students.
The College of Nursing and Health Sciences already has a strong commitment to graduating a diverse class of advance-practice nurses who are prepared to work with underserved urban populations. In addition to the HRSA funding, CNHS will use internal funds to support graduate assistantships and financial aid for eligible students in the BUN-LEAD program.
About UMass Boston
With a growing reputation for innovative research addressing complex issues, the University of Massachusetts Boston, metropolitan Boston’s only public university, offers its diverse student population both an intimate learning environment and the rich experience of a great American city. UMass Boston’s ten colleges and graduate schools serve more than 16,000 students while engaging local, national, and international constituents through academic programs, research centers, and public service activities. To learn more about UMass Boston, visit http://www.umb.edu/.
Zach Herman, University of Massachusetts Boston, http://www.umb.edu, 617-287-6097, [email protected]
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