°ÅÀÖÊÓƵ Nursing’s Endowed Faculty Positions Drive Innovation and Excellence
The M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing (FCN) continues to distinguish itself as a premier destination for elite nursing scholars. Through strategic cultivation of recognized nursing leaders in its faculty and as holders of its endowed positions, °ÅÀÖÊÓƵ Nursing attracts groundbreaking, innovative researchers who are deeply committed teachers.
New this year, the Kreider Endowed Professorship in Health Care Simulation and Innovation is advancing the science and practice of simulation-based education—essential to preparing student nurses for practice in a safe environment—at °ÅÀÖÊÓƵ Nursing. The College also recently announced a gift to establish the Wendy U. and Thomas C. Naratil Endowed Professorship in Oncology Nursing, to promote the ever-growing need for compassionate, highly skilled care of cancer patients and survivors.
Highlighted here are four outstanding FCN faculty members who hold endowed positions and consistently make important contributions in teaching, research and scholarship. Their work not only advances nursing science and inventive solutions in health care, it also prepares the next generation of exceptional °ÅÀÖÊÓƵ nurses.
Dr. Helene Moriarty
Helene Moriarty, PhD, RN, FAAN
Diane L. and Robert F. Moritz Jr. Endowed Chair in Nursing Research
An international nursing leader and recognized family science expert, Helene Moriarty, PhD, RN, FAAN, has held the Diane L. and Robert F. Moritz Jr. Endowed Chair in Nursing Research since its 2013 inception. Her research is groundbreaking as one of the first scientific efforts to engage family members as integral partners in the care of veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and address the health of family caregivers.
The National Institutes of Health awarded Dr. Moriarty the premier R01 award—the first ever for FCN and first in 30 years for the University—to evaluate an intervention that addresses critical gaps in services and research for veterans and civilians with chronic TBI symptoms and their families. She has also received previous federal funding.
Dr. Moriarty served on the prestigious National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on . The Committee produced a 2020 report providing a 10-year roadmap for advancing TBI research and clinical care.
Dr. Moriarty has been a VA Nurse Scientist since 1993 and held numerous VA leadership roles. From 2022 to 2025, she was Co-Chair or Chair for the Committee charged with strategic planning for nursing research for the entire VA health system serving over nine million veterans.
Dr. Loretta Sweet Jemmott
Lorretta Sweet Jemmott, PhD, RN, FAAN
M. Louise Fitzpatrick Endowed Professor of Nursing
Lorretta Sweet Jemmott, PhD, RN, FAAN, a highly distinguished international leader in nursing and health equity research, began her °ÅÀÖÊÓƵ tenure in March 2025 as the new M. Louise Fitzpatrick Endowed Professor of Nursing. She is one of the nation's foremost health promotion, community-engaged researchers in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention, having received more than $150 million in federal funding over the course of her career.
Dr. Jemmott’s community-engagement research, which has been published in more than 150 peer-reviewed articles, books and chapters, has demonstrated not only remarkable success in reducing HIV and STD risk-associated behaviors, but has also had a significant impact in reducing the incidence of STDs among diverse populations across the United States and in Botswana, South Africa, Jamaica, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
In addition to her many awards and accolades, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated eight of Dr. Jemmott’s evidence-based interventions for international and national dissemination in 48 states. Across the country, schools, clinics, churches and community-based organizations incorporate Dr. Jemmott’s programs into their education and prevention efforts.
Dr. Susan Kilroy
Susan Kilroy, PhD, RN, CHSE
Kreider Endowed Professorship in Healthcare Simulation and Innovation
Susan Kilroy, PhD, RN, CHSE, is the inaugural holder of the Kreider Endowed Professorship in Health Care Simulation and Innovation. A demonstrated leader in the advancement of the science of simulation and technology in education, Dr. Kilroy joined the FCN faculty in January 2025. In her professorship, she focuses on enriching simulation-based education and scholarship, deepening FCN’s partnerships and growing the College’s national and international presence in the field of simulation, an increasingly essential complement to traditional clinical experience that sets up students for success in clinical settings and ultimately, their nursing careers.
Dr. Kilroy’s research uses simulation-based education to evaluate interprofessional collaborative practice behaviors, nursing clinical skills and community indicators such as bias, racism and social determinants of health when caring for underserved populations. She has published in numerous scholarly journals and is a frequent speaker on topics in nursing education.
Dr. Bridgette Rice
Bridgette M. Rice, PhD, MDiv, APRN, FAAN
Associate Dean for Research and Innovation
Richard and Marianne Kreider Endowed Professor in Nursing for Vulnerable Populations
An award-winning and innovative researcher, Bridgette M. Rice, PhD, MDiv, APRN, FAAN, the Richard and Marianne Kreider Endowed Professor in Nursing for Vulnerable Populations, concentrates her research portfolio on the promotion of health equity and reduction of health disparities in marginalized groups. She has secured more than $6 million in funding to advance the understanding of individual, social and structural drivers of inequality with spatially driven, mixed-methods approaches to research. This multi-level, geographical approach generates knowledge on modifiable targets for novel, evidence-based interventions and policies to promote health and reduce health inequities.
Dr. Rice, also the Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, is a national leader in promoting the critical role of nurses in research and innovation. A sought-after speaker, she has presented at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Forum on Mental Health and Substance Use and the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science’s State of the Science Conference on Social and Structural Determinants of Health. Dr. Rice founded and serves as director of the FCN’s Research for Equity and Justice Collective.