Two faculty members of the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies — associate professor of nursing and director of the DNP Midwifery program Jenna LoGiudice, PhD, CNM, RN, FACNM, and associate professor of nursing Linda Roney, EdD, RN-BC, CPEN, CNE — were formally inducted into the American Academy of Nursing as fellows at an October ceremony in Washington, D.C. 

"I am thrilled to have been inducted into the American Academy of Nursing. The mission of the Academy is to improve health and achieve health equity," said Dr. Roney. "Throughout my professional nursing career, I have demonstrated my commitment to improving vulnerable populations' care through advocacy to advance pediatric trauma care services. My clinical practice, service, testimony to state and federal agencies, and leadership in professional organizations have promoted improvements to nursing care for injured children nationally and internationally in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Africa. I am excited to partner with new colleagues with a wide variety of experiences and expertise to help make huge strides toward health equity for our global community." 

Becoming members of the American Academy of Nursing is a major achievement for inductees, and recognizes their significant contributions to healthcare field. As fellows, the Egan faculty members will work with other healthcare leaders across the country, to transform the United States health system by enhancing quality of care, promoting human development across the lifespan, reducing health disparities, integrating mental and physical health, and improving the health delivery system nationally and internationally.

“Being inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing is a steadfast reminder of the work I have done to integrate trauma-informed care into midwifery curricula, to educate sexual assault forensic examiners in Connecticut, and to achieve scalable Medicaid pay parity for nurse midwives in Connecticut," Dr. LoGiudice said, "but more importantly, my induction serves as a call to continue to carry these efforts forward in all spaces of my work. I am humbled to be a part of such a dynamic group of nurse change-agents working to achieve health equity for all.” 

Dr. LoGiudice serves as the director of the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) Nurse Midwifery program at Fairfield Egan. Before taking a full-time academic job at Fairfield University in 2013, she practiced clinically as a full scope Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) attending births and caring for women throughout the lifespan. She continues to maintain active clinical practice, which fuels her passion for women’s healthcare and allows her to bring the most up to date clinical practices into the classroom and into her research. 

Dr. Roney is certified as a pediatric nurse, pediatric emergency nurse, and academic nurse educator and has over 20 years of clinical, leadership, and administrative experience at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital and has received awards such as Nurse of the Year, the Nightingale Award for Clinical Excellence, and the Connecticut Emergency Nurses Association Educator of the Year Award. She continues her pediatric nursing practice at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital where she cares for some of the most vulnerable patients, including victims of child abuse and infants born to mothers who are addicted to illicit drugs. 

“As the American Academy of Nursing’s President, it gives me great pride to welcome these incredible leaders into our organization during our 50th anniversary year,” said Kenneth R. White, PhD, RN, AGACNP, ACHPN, FACHE, FAAN. “This year’s group of inductees truly represents today’s thought leaders and the diversity of our profession’s policy leaders, practitioners, educators, and innovators.”

Learn more at fairfield.edu/egan.