One of the most memorable experiences Jane Martin had at Samford University was the opportunity to run a migrant farmworker clinic at Chandler Mountain in northeast Alabama.

"This clinic provided health care for migrant farmworkers and their family members and allowed nursing students to use their skills to provide compassionate health care for an underserved population," she said.

Martin, senior associate dean and professor at Samford's Moffett & Sanders School of Nursing, will retire this summer after 25 years on the nursing faculty. She is looking forward to spending extended time with her daughter, son-in-law and (most especially) with her granddaughter in Hong Kong.

"I have my first trip booked for September to stay for five weeks. I also look forward to traveling to many new places in the U.S. and abroad."

Martin said the highlight of her time at Samford was "seeing students achieve their academic dreams and seeing them successful in their nursing careers."

Nursing has changed significantly during her tenure.

"Nursing has been recognized recently during the pandemic for what it has always been in my mind," she said, " the workforce that provides expert care and compassion in health care for all people."

Martin called Samford "a wonderful place to work," saying she would miss her time there in retirement.

She was the first graduate faculty member hired by the nursing school and taught the school's first nurse practitioner program. That program, which started with four students, has developed into a full department that has contributed to the careers of more than 900 nurses.

Martin received Samford's Jennings Marshall Award in 2019 for consistent and sustained service contributions to the university.