Research & Centers

“A pillar of the We Dare idea is ‘We dare to tackle the complex.’ I am energized by the renewed commitment to work with diverse groups of people to truly improve the health of all.”

-Dr. Debra Barton, Mary Lou Willard French Professor of Oncology Nursing, Associate Dean for Research and Rackham Graduate Studies

Each day at the School of Nursing holds an incredible opportunity to join with accomplished faculty who share a vision for excellence, boldness and forward thinking.

Here, the next generation of nursing researchers are poised for leadership, and our scientists are positioned for great discoveries. Thoughtful donors like you make all of this possible.

Endowed professorships like the Mary Lou Willard French Professorship of Oncology Nursing are often described as “the gift of time” for highly accomplished faculty, allowing them time for transformative research, time for nursing science leadership, and time for mentoring the next generation of doctoral students. The family of the late Mary Lou Willard French (Nursing Diploma ’52), established the endowed professorship in her name.

Endowed research funds like the Lucile and Clayton Clark Faculty Research Fund are aimed at providing seed funding to beginning faculty to lift those early career scientists along their academic research journeys. Professor Emerita and American Academy of Nursing Living Legend Dr. Sally Lusk established this fund to honor her parents. To date, the Lucile and Clayton Clark names have been remembered through two decades of nursing research at the U-M School of Nursing, and will continue in perpetuity for future generations of nursing scientists and for all the patients and communities who will benefit from their research. As an endowed fund, 100 years from now, the Lucile and Clayton Clark Faculty Research Fund will still be granting seed funding for beginning faculty. Thanks to a grant from this fund, Dr. Marie Anne Sanon-Rosemberg led an investigation on blood pressure levels and work conditions of hotel housekeepers that led to several publications and a feature in our Panacea magazine. (pg.16)