* The numbers above represent totals for the 2025-2026 academic year (August 2025 - July 2026). 

At Grand Valley State University's Kirkhof College of Nursing, our greatest strength lies in our exceptional faculty. Committed to advancing nursing education and practice, our faculty bring a wealth of clinical expertise, scholarly achievement, and innovative teaching strategies to the classroom. Their dedication to student success and evidence-based care ensures that graduates are prepared to lead in a rapidly evolving healthcare environment. Through mentorship, research, and community engagement, KCON faculty exemplify the highest standards of the nursing profession.

Emily Bemben, Christina Quick, Madeline Krawciew, and Haley Priestap - Policy Pathways to Integrated Behavioral Health for Foster Youth in Michigan. Child Protection and Practice Journal.

Emily Bemben, Shelby Fredricks, and Christina Quick - Group Therapy Simulation in PMHNP Education: A Pilot Event. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.

Michelle Byars - Pediatric Headaches: An Overview of Pathophysiology and Diagnosis. Advances in Family Practice Nursing.

Michelle Byars - An Overview of Pediatric Primary Headache Management. Advances In Family Practice Nursing.

Jackie Iseler - Textbook: Research for Advanced Practice Nurses. Springer Publishing.

Jackie Iseler - Managing Pain, Sedation, and Delirium in Intensive Care Unit Patients with Fungal Central Nervous System Infections. Critical Care Nursing Clinics of America.

Alida Semrinec and Dave Vander Ark - Nursing Care Plans as a Learning Tool: Perceptions of Undergraduate Nursing Students. Nursing Forum.

Kathy Moran - The Lived Experience of Those Who Work with or Hire DNP-Prepared Nurses in Practice: A Phenomenological Study. The Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Christina Quite et al. - Mandated Reporting of Child Maltreatment: The Role of Pediatric-Focused Advanced Practice Nurses. The Journal of Pediatric Health Care.

Kristi Cooper and colleagues - Community-Engaged Evaluation of Public Perceptions of Water Fluoridation in Kent County, Michigan: An Oral Public Health Initiative. Michigan Premier Public Health Conference, Oct. 2026.

Kristi Cooper and colleagues - HPV Vaccination and Water Fluoridation. American Public Health Association Conference, Nov. 2026.

Andrew Deschaine, Jay Knight, and Doug Booth - Structural Moral Integrity in Policy-Constrained Healthcare: Implications for Health Promotion Practice in Intersex and Gender-Diverse Care. 2026 GLMA Annual Conference, Sept. 2026. WPATH Annual Conference, Nov. 2026.

Briana Hutchinson - Panelist on the Leadership Series Navigating AI in Cardiac Care. Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association, July 2026.

Mary Kooyer and Kim Oosterhouse - Required Office Hours Creating an Opportunity for Faculty/Student Connection. International Lilly Conference, Oct. 2026.

Susan Littler, Briana Hutchinson, Clay Reeves, and Julie Bekius - Boosting Nursing Student Competence and Confidence in Providing End-of-Life Care. International Lilly Conference, Oct. 2026.

Kellie Riley, Genevieve Elrod, and Cheryl VerStrate - Reimagining Grading: An Equity Centered Approach to Higher Education. International Lilly Conference, Oct. 2026.

Kellie Riley and Nicole Harpold - Designing Transformative Learning: Integrating Self-Care and Behavior Change Across Programs. International Lilly Conference, Oct. 2026.

Leanne Mauriello and Andrew Deschaine - The Human-AI Polarity at the Point of Care. Tech Week Grand Rapids, Sept. 2026.

Kathy Moran and Michelle McKnight - An Academic-Practice Partnership Model for Increasing Nursing Diversity in Rural and Underserved Communities. International Nurse Education Conference, Nov. 2026.

Kathy Moran and Michelle McKnight - The Preceptor Problem, Reimagined: What Happens When You Just Ask What They Need. International Nurse Education Conference, Nov. 2026.

Kathy Moran and Michelle McKnight - From Gap to Action: Development of a Preceptor Resource Network to Strengthen Clinical Teaching Support. International Nurse Education Conference, Nov. 2026.

Kim Oosterhouse - SEE ME: An Intergenerational Reciprocal Mentoring Program to Combat Ageism and Loneliness. Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting, Nov. 2026.

Maria Roche-Dean - Whether They Remember Me or Not: Direct Care Workers' Strategies for Working With Older Adults With Dementia. Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting, Nov. 2026.

Dave Vander Ark - Trauma Informed Self-Care. American Psychiatric Nursing Association Conference, Oct. 2026.

Kathy Moran - Inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.

Julie Bekius - Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) certification.

Emily Bemben - 2026 MomsBloom Postpartum Champion award.

Sherri Fannon and Padnos College of Engineering Team - Medication dispensing unit was featured as a 'Spotlight' story by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Nicole Harpold - Accepted for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Serious Illness Research Career Consultancy program.

Jackie Iseler - 2026-2027 Michigan Health & Hospital Association Excellence in Governance Fellowship.

Jackie Iseler - Michigan Clinical Nurse Specialist Founding Board Member Award.

Jay Knight - Featured on Wood 8 TV: What LGBTQ+ health advocates are seeing in West Michigan.

Jay Knight - Recipient of the 2026 Jennifer Palm Community Impact Award at GVSU's Women's[+] Commission Awards Ceremony.

Sylivia Mupepi - Manuscript Association of stroke and myocardial infarction symptom knowledge with cancer screening participation among patients with hypertension and diabetes: A cross-sectional study in Korea, has been cited 316+ and has been translated into multiple languages.

Christina Quite - Featured news: In Kent County, Partners are Working Together to Improve Health Support for Kids in Foster Care, Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

Maria Roche-Dean - 2026 Butler-Williams Scholars Program. National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Washington, D.C., Aug. 2026.

Emily Bemben - Association of Community Health Nursing Educators grant.

Liz Davis and Julia Vandermolen - Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

Leda Evans - Health Resources and Services Administration, Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students grant.

Sherri Fannon and College of Computing colleagues - National Science Foundation - PESOSE; Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) R18 grant.

Madi Goodyke - National Institute of Nursing Research R-21 and R-01.

Janet Winter (PI), Leda Evans, and Jay Knight - Healthcare Resources and Services Administration, Nursing Workforce Development grant.

Doreen Siriboe-Achampong (DNP) - Accepted in the AACN Jonas Scholars Program.

Joshua Selwyn - Video Education to Improve Advance Care Planning Among Hospitalized Adults. Submitted to the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing. Mentor: Nicole Harpold.

Tia Schneider - Represented KCON at the AACN Graduate Nursing Student Academy (GNSA) conference, July 2026.

KCON provides faculty and students a library of hundreds of resources and learnings to support a variety of scholarship projects. Housed on GVSU's LMS Blackboard, the library includes items to help you every step of the way, including: 

• Instructions and checklists to get started
• Statistical analysis tools 
• Step-by-step tutorials
• Data sources
• Lifelong Learning opportunities
• Grant Information
• Writing assistance
• Dissemination resources
• Research tools
• .... and much more!