Alumni award winners
Nurse scientist Michael Cary (left), professor Anne Frost (second from left), nurse scientist K. Jane Muir (center), and pediatric NP Carter Hunter (right) pose with Dean Marianne Baernholdt.

We were thrilled to honor four extraordinary alumni who joined us for lunch April 28 to be honored in front of their families, their colleagues, their mentors, and current and former faculty members and administrators at the School of Nursing.

In addition to honoring these four extraordinary alumni, the School also honored immediate past Alumni Association president Sandy Reed-Bryant, and unveiled a portrait of Pam Cipriano, dean emerita, at a ceremony that included remarks from current Alumni Association president Joshua James, Dean Marianne Baernholdt, and executive director of development Erik Williams.

The Decade Award recognizes alumni who've been practicing fewer than 10 years and have distinguished themselves in scholarship, leadership, and clinical practice, showing promise for the future and an expectation of sustained excellence.

Jane MuirJane Muir, PhD, FNP-BC (BSN ’16, PhD ’21, MSN-FNP ’22)
2022 Decade Awardee

A post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine National Clinician Scholars Program, and a T32 fellow in Penn School of Nursing’s Center for Health Policy and Outcomes Research Center, Muir began her nursing career in UVA Health’s emergency department and continues to maintain an active clinical practice, leaning into her Spanish fluency and trauma certification. A member of both Sigma honor society and UVA’s Raven Society, Muir has presented at regional and national conferences, and worked with “extraordinary leadership and talent,” her nominator wrote, noting Muir’s “meteoric rise” since graduation.

PNP Carter HunterCarter Hunter, RN, PNP-PC (BSN ’15)
2023 Decade Awardee

A board-certified pediatric nurse practitioner and a clinician for Richmond, Va.-based Commonwealth Pediatrics since 2020, Hunter is a former pediatric oncology and bone marrow transplant nurse and a pediatric urgent care nurse practitioner with experience caring for children in global settings, including Haiti and El Salvador. Hunter earned both the Hannah Gerloff and Johnny Callan Compassion Scholarship Award from UVA and the Robert W. Woodruff Scholarship from Emory University, where she earned a master’s degree. She’s currently enrolled in the School’s psychiatric mental health nursing post-master’s program, and expects to become a psychiatric-mental health NP in 2028.

The Distinguished Alumni Award is awarded annually to alumni who demonstrate excellence and impact in teaching and scholarship, leadership, research, clinical practice, and contributions to the School’s Alumni Association.

Michael CaryMichael Cary, Jr., PhD, RN, FAAN (BSN ’04, MSN ’06, PhD ’12)
2022 Distinguished Alumni Awardee

A nurse scientist, gerontology expert, an AI health equity scholar, and a diversity, equity, and inclusivity champion, Cary was named the Elizabeth C. Clipp Term Chair at Duke University School of Nursing in 2021 and has been a core member of Duke’s Center for Biobehavioral Health Disparities Research since 2014. He led Academy Health’s Interdisciplinary Research Group on Nursing Issues and was primary architect of its DEI-focused mentoring program while also leading strategies to empower Duke School of Nursing’s recruitment, hiring, and retention of underrepresented people in nursing, a framework applauded as an exemplar in Nursing Forum.

Cary’s research focuses on the use of data to predict disability in African American older adults at increased risk for re-hospitalization. He’s developed machine learning algorithms and decision tools that have been deployed across Duke’s healthcare enterprise to root out racism and healthcare disparities, is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, and a National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence distinguished educator.

Anne DuVal Frost, PhD (BSN ’64)
2023 Distinguished Alumni Awardee

Anne FrostDescribed by her nominator as “a true leader and visionary humanitarian,” Frost and four fellow nurses founded Project Community in 1985, that, to this day, continues to deploy a variety of impactful programs that support children, teens, young adults, people with disabilities, and their families, as well as law enforcement.

As Project Community president, Frost served as Sigma Theta Tau's distinguished speaker, delivering more than 30 presentations, and produced and moderated the New York State Nurses Association’s “Healthstyles,” a WBAI radio program. She also taught nursing at Lehman College of the City University of New York and the College of New Rochelle for more than 30 years.

Named a “Woman of Distinction” by the New York State Senate and recipient of the Denzel Washington Award for Community Service for Teens, Frost maintains a counseling practice serving children, teens, and adults in Pelham, NY.

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