The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has announced the first round of grants as part of its Nurse Faculty Scholars program to fifteen junior faculty nurses from around the country.

Launched in January, the program will provide $28 million over five years to outstanding junior nurse faculty in order to promote academic careers and address the nursing faculty shortage that contributes to the national nursing shortage. Although there has been a rise in applicants in recent years, nursing schools have turned away thousands of prospective students because of an acute shortage of faculty and clinical preceptors, training sites, space, and funding constraints. The program will work to strengthen the link between institutional reputation and faculty success by providing research funds and career development opportunities for junior faculty.

Each of the Nurse Faculty Scholars will receive a three-year grant of up to $350,000 to help them advance as educators and scholars in their field by providing mentorship, leadership training, salary, and research support. The fellows will conduct research projects while teaching at their respective universities.

"If we want to address the serious shortage of nurses in this country, we must focus on recruiting more nurse educators to the classroom and retaining them in the academic setting," said RWJF president Risa Lavizzo-Mourey. "This program fits squarely into the foundation's goal to build a new generation of nurse leaders among academic faculty so we can stop turning away nursing school applicants who are sorely needed to meet an increasing patient demand."

For a complete list of fellows and their research projects, visit the RWJF Web site.