Five Cumberland University faculty members have been recognized by the Tennessee Nurses Association, the Tennessee Hospital Association, and the Tennessee Action Coalition for their outstanding leadership in the nursing profession. 

Joe Callis, Kelcey Flagg, Ashley Walkner, John “Jake” Whicker, and Michelle Zuercher were named 2023 Tennessee Rising Star Nursing Leaders, commended for their commitment to excellence in professional development and leadership, and promotion of health and wellness. Three of the five recipients, Callis, Whicker, and Zuercher, are Jeanette C. Rudy School of Nursing and Health Professions alumni, making this privilege particularly special for the university. 

Dean of the Rudy School Dr. Mary Bess Griffith shared her excitement for this distinction. 

“It is such an honor for Cumberland to have five members of the elite group of the Rising Star Nurse Leaders as nursing faculty,” said Griffith. “It says a lot about our faculty’s character and passion for the field, especially with three of the five recipients being alumni who choose to pour into nursing students the same way other faculty did during their time as Cumberland students.”

The Tennessee Rising Star Nurse Leader program aspires to engage and empower young nurses to lead the profession in improving the health of Tennesseans. This group of young Tennessee leaders in nursing represent the three grand divisions of the state, a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, frontline clinicians, academicians, and managers. 

To learn more about the Rudy School, visit https://www.cumberland.edu/rudy-school-of-nursing-and-health-professions/.