Casey Hoenes, assistant professor of nursing, and Joi Kazenski, professor of nursing, have been awarded $10,000 Nursing Educator Fellowship Grants from the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE). The fellowships are awarded to “help retain well-qualified nursing faculty at institutions of higher education that award degrees that lead to a registered nurse licensure.” They were among 80 nurse educators from Illinois colleges and universities to receive the awards. This is the second pair of nursing faculty to receive this award. Leslie Catalano and Bridgette Hudson received the award in 2023.

Hoenes is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in nursing education. He says, “This grant helps me by directly paying for Ph.D. classes and helping pay back existing loans.” Kazenski received her Ph.D. in 2020. “I was finishing my coursework at the beginning of the pandemic,” she said. “This grant will help offset the cost of the student loans I acquired when finishing my degree.”

Congratulations!