OU professor receives grant from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Kristen Munyan, assistant professor and undergraduate program director in Oakland University’s School of Nursing, was selected to receive a $25,000 grant from the Foundation for Academic Nursing, the philanthropic arm of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). The grant will support Dr. Munyan’s work on Enhancing Laboratory Infrastructure to support at-risk and English as a Second Language (ESL) students. 

She was one of only two professors to receive this grant for the 2021 AACN Faculty Scholars Grant Program, joining Dr. Laurie Kennedy-Malone from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The awards were announced following a competitive process involving 57 applications from faculty nationwide. 

“In keeping with its strategic priorities, AACN is pleased to recognize our latest Faculty Scholars for their commitment to advancing competency-based education and creating inclusive learning environments,” said Dr. Deborah Trautman, AACN’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “I applaud Dr. Kennedy-Malone and Dr. Munyan for their groundbreaking work to generate new nursing knowledge, lead change, and transform how nurses are educated, conduct research, and practice.” 

OU School of Nursing Dean Judy Didion added, “As an expert nurse clinician, educator and innovator, Dr. Munyan has been instrumental with the School of Nursing’s curriculum and systems improvement processes to provide the best education to our students.”   

Dr. Munyan is an alumna of Oakland University’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing programs and has been a faculty member at Oakland since 2017. Her research involves identifying and addressing health disparities in foundational nursing assessments and interventions, with specific interest in the utility of technology to address these needs. She is currently a co-Principal Investigator on a study of the accuracy of nursing assessments of pain and dyspnea via telehealth.

Dr. Munyan will apply this focus on technology and vulnerable populations to enhancing equity in nursing education within the undergraduate program and promoting a diverse nursing workforce. She instructs courses in both the undergraduate and graduate programs at Oakland University and continues to practice in the community setting. 

To learn about Oakland’s School of Nursing, visit oakland.edu/nursing.