Posted by William Nunnelley on 2009-08-19

Samford University has received another major federal grant aimed at helping to ease the national shortage in nurse educators. Samford's Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing received $206,120 for the Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The grant brings to $389,781 the amount of loan money for Samford graduate nursing students in 2009-2010. In July, the nursing school received an NFLP grant of $183,661 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help address the critical shortage in qualified nurse educators.

"The Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing is very excited to receive this second round of nurse faculty loan funding because it will allow us to assist additional graduate students who plan to pursue the academic role and teach nursing," said Dr. Jane S. Martin, associate dean for graduate programs in the nursing school. 

"The NFLP is intended to ease the nurse faculty shortage and we can see the results already with some of our 2009 graduates. This is a very exciting opportunity for the School of Nursing."

The loan money will enable Samford to fund 40 students in master's or doctoral programs this year. The students can have up to 85 percent of the loan waived in exchange for service as a full-time nursing faculty member at a school of nursing.
Samford has offered master's degrees in nursing since 1995 and added a doctor of nursing practice degree in 2006, graduating its first class this year. The school was one of the first 55 in the nation to receive NFLP funds from the Department of Health and Human Services when the program began in 2002, and its grant amount has increased each year as its nursing program has grown, Dr. Martin noted.

The faculty shortage is felt even at schools such as Samford with strong academic programs, Martin added. "We constantly are looking for highly qualified faculty who can enhance our graduate nursing programs," she said. "These grants allow many highly qualified students to pursue the graduate education they need in order to teach at accredited nursing schools."

With the latest grant, Samford has received more than $817,000 in federal grants to assist its graduate nursing students. #

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.