Updated 1:30 p.m. Jan. 15: Applications are now being accepted for UC Davis’ Betty Irene Moore Fellowship Program for Nurse Leaders and Innovators. A new informational video is posted above.

The University of California, Davis, today (Dec. 3) announced a $37.5 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to launch the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship Program for Nurse Leaders and Innovators at the university’s Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. The new fellowship program recognizes early-career nursing scholars and innovators with high potential to accelerate leadership in nursing-science research, practice, education, policy and entrepreneurship.

“We are honored and grateful that the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has chosen to invest, once again, in UC Davis in order to deliver on our mission to improve and advance health by leading change in health systems and communities,” UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May said. “This investment signals an opportunity to build upon our foundation of nurse leaders and offer an educational experience beyond UC Davis that addresses the needs and challenges of a diverse and changing world.”

Nurses as leaders who can inspire and change

In the spirit of Betty Irene Moore’s passion to advance nursing with the goal of better outcomes for patients and families, the foundation seeks to prepare nurses as collaborative leaders with the skills and confidence to inspire others, enact change and challenge the status quo. With the creation of the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship Program for Nurse Leaders and Innovators, the foundation will support nurse leaders who can take ideas to scale that advance high-quality, high-value care and optimal health outcomes.

“Nursing has become one of the most trusted professions, and supporting leadership and innovation in nursing is a sound investment in the future,” said Harvey V. Fineberg, president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. “This fellowship program honors Betty Irene Moore’s commitment to nurses as leaders and change agents, and we believe it will improve the quality of patient care for everyone.”

UC Davis and the foundation have partnered in a shared vision to transform health care since the founding of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing in 2009 with the foundation’s $100 million commitment. In the past decade, the school has launched five graduate-degree programs and graduated more than 500 alumni, while achieving top-50 status in U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of nursing schools.

A Fellowship National Advisory Council will guide the Betty Irene Moore Fellowship Program for Nurse Leaders and Innovators, and Heather M. Young, the nursing school’s founding dean, will be the program director.

Foundation leaders recognize the school’s success to date and are entrusting the school and its dean, Stephen J. Cavanagh, as well as Young, to continue making a national impact with this effort. 

“It is my great honor to lead this initiative, building a strong program with colleagues and engaging the best and brightest of our next generation to accelerate their leadership journeys to shape our preferred future,” Young said. “I’m eager to see the new ideas that these fellows will bring to develop new knowledge in nursing science and innovation to advance health and health care.”

Graduate School of Management joining program

The nationally ranked UC Davis Graduate School of Management joins the program with expertise in leadership and entrepreneurship. Rao Unnava, dean of the Graduate School of Management, will co-direct the leadership development curriculum.

The foundation’s initial investment over the next five years will support approximately 10 fellows each year from eligible institutions. This fellowship program expands national impact by accelerating the careers of nursing leaders who are making substantive changes in health care improvement while advancing the School of Nursing’s vision.

This three-year fellowship program will engage promising nurse scholars in a journey of leadership development and mentorship to complete an innovative project or study.  Each fellow will receive a total of $450,000 over three years to support their work. The program will feature a curriculum designed to develop leadership and innovation capacity, to strengthen strategic thinking and collaborative skills, and propel innovative ideas to fruition. Recruitment begins in early January with the first cohort of fellows named by the spring of 2020.