UNCP awarded $950K grant to establish addiction recovery center
UNC Pembroke has been awarded a $950,000, three-year grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust to create the Southeastern Prevention and Addiction Recovery Resource Center (SPARC) within the College of Health Sciences. Expanding on the current efforts of the Robeson County Health Care Corporation (RHCC) and Robeson County District Attorney’s Office, SPARC will provide a community-based effort to address the immediate and long-term substance use and recovery needs in the county.
UNC Pembroke Awarded $510K Grant to Expand Community Health Worker Initiative
UNC Pembroke has been awarded a $510,000 grant in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) to expand the state’s Community Health Worker (CHW) Initiative. The funds are part of the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s Community Health Workers for COVID Response and Resilient Communities.
Biology Faculty Collaborate with Utah State in Smart Foodscapes Research Project
Biology faculty members Drs. Rita Hagevik and Kaitlin Campbell are co-PIs on a AFRI-USDA grant for 6.8 million dollars with Utah State University, using Smart Foodscapes to raise sustainable beef. Click here to read about the project.
Adjunct nursing professor honored with state award
UNC Pembroke Clinical Assistant Professor Jermecka Hamilton Covington has been named the 2021 Rookie of The Year by the North Carolina Nurses Association (NCNA). The annual award is given by the NCNA board of directors to a nurse who has been a member less than two years and excels at promoting a positive image of nursing and the professional organization to peers and consumers.
UNC Pembroke dedicates the McKenzie-Elliott School of Nursing
UNC Pembroke celebrated the official naming of the McKenzie-Elliott School of Nursing during a ceremony on September 23, paying homage to a registered nurse, Mary McKenzie Edwards, whose resilience empowered her to achieve her dreams. Former UNCP Trustee Mary Ann Elliott shared moving stories of her mother's tenacity and how she was inspired by her mother's perseverance in the face of hardships and financial setbacks during the Great Depression in the 1930s.
Alumna Leyia Bullard Oxendine accepted to Physician Assistant program at Methodist University
Leyia Bullard Oxendine, a 2017 graduate of UNC Pembroke, has been accepted to the Physician Assistant program at Methodist University. Oxendine of Pembroke earned a bachelor of science in Nursing. She plans to return to Robeson County and serve as a healthcare provider.
Paging Dr. Woriax
Article written by Mark Locklear First published in the spring 2021 edition of UNCP Today Surgeons must possess a unique blend of skills and characteristics to be successful; they need more than just medical knowledge. While still early in her career, Dr. Hannah Woriax is quickly accumulating those skills.
Five alumnae complete Doctor of Pharmacy program at Wingate University
Five UNC Pembroke alumnae recently graduated from Wingate University’s Doctor of Pharmacy program. Alex Miles Locklear, Megan Stevens Kwasnik, Sharon Ayioka, Brooke Chavis and Ashley Arcara were among the Spring 2021 graduating class. Arcara and Chavis graduated from UNCP in 2016. Kwasnik, Ayioka and Locklear earned their UNCP degrees the following year. Ayioka, a native of Kenya pursuing a career as an ambulatory care pharmacist, credits her UNCP professors Rachel Smith and Maria Santisteban for her academic success.
UNCP nursing student wins a $25,000 scholarship
Dekiah Parson, a junior nursing student at UNC Pembroke, has won a $25,000 scholarship from the Taco Bell Foundation. Parson, an employee of Taco Bell in Fayetteville, was among 26 students nationwide to receive the full scholarship amount. She plans to use the money toward graduate school. Parson discovered her passion for medicine after her godsister, London, was born prematurely. Her birth led to several health issues.
Lynch, Walton named Udall Scholars
Aiyana Lynch and Sonny Walton have been named 2021 Udall Scholars–marking the first time two UNC Pembroke students were honored in the same year.