Welcome to Nurse Faculty Scholars (NFS), a new National Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The program was created to help talented junior nursing faculty advance in their careers by giving them the opportunity to develop a research program and participate in other scholarly activities; engage in institutional and national mentoring, leadership training, networking among scholars and colleagues in nursing and other fields; and have protected time to gain the critical skills needed for a successful career in academic nursing. The program is directed by Jacquelyn Campbell, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., Anna D. Wolf Chair and Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.

Selected scholars will be supported for 60 percent time for each of the three years of the program through their sponsoring institutions. A nursing school can nominate one candidate annually, but may have no more than two active scholars in the program at any one time. Candidates must be junior faculty members with at least two and no more than five years of experience in the faculty role at the start of the program.

The goal of the RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars program is to develop the next generation of national leaders in academic nursing through career development awards for outstanding junior nursing faculty. The program aims to strengthen the academic productivity and overall excellence of nursing schools by providing mentorship, leadership training, salary and research support to young faculty. The Nurse Faculty Scholars program falls under the Foundation's Human Capital Portfolio, which supports programs that involve a diverse group of promising scholars in leadership development, training and research and help ensure that our nation has a sufficient, well-trained workforce.

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Be a registered nurse with a research doctorate in nursing or a related discipline.
• Be a junior faculty member in an accredited school of nursing in an academic position that could lead to tenure. Junior faculty are defined as those who are at the instructor or assistant professor level and have been in a faculty position for at least two and no more than five years at the start of the program.
• Identify at least one senior leader in the school of nursing as an institutional mentor for academic career planning and to provide access to organizations, programs and colleagues helpful to the candidate's work as a Nurse Faculty Scholar.
• Identify at least one senior researcher in the university with similar or complementary research interests. Scholars are encouraged to select the research mentor from a discipline outside of nursing.

We embrace racial, ethnic and gender diversity and encourage applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds.

Selection Criteria

The following factors are considered in the selection process:

• Evidence of the potential for and strong commitment to a full career as an academic nurse leader, with the capacity to achieve rank of full professor.
• Evidence that the nominating institution and its senior leadership are committed to supporting the candidate's academic career and activities during the program.
• Evidence of the availability and commitment of qualified mentors and academic resources, including space as appropriate, at the candidate's institution.
• Evidence of the potential to become a national leader in the candidate's scholarly focus area.
• Evidence of the candidate's commitment to teaching excellence.
• Evidence of the candidate's commitment to racial, ethnic, gender and cultural diversity in nursing.
• General merit of the candidate's proposed research
• Potential of the proposed research and scholarship area to serve as a foundation for the candidate's academic career and contribution to nursing science;interdisciplinary knowledge in a focus area;and improvement of health and health care in the United States

Total Awards

• Up to 15 awards of up to $350,000 each over three years will be available in this round of funding.

The 2009 Call for Proposals is closed.  Look for the 2010 Call for Proposals in Fall 2009