Three nurse faculty appointed to endowed positions

Kate Fiandt, PhD, Lynnette Leeseberg Stamler, PhD, and Lani (ChiChi) Zimmerman, PhD, recently have been appointed to endowed positions.

"The amazing news is that we currently have 10 endowed positions, which is an increase over the seven we had a year ago," said Juliann Sebastian, PhD, dean and professor of the UNMC College of Nursing. "This is an extraordinary asset for a College of Nursing and an incredible testament to our generous donors."

Dr. Fiandt, associate dean for transformational practice and partnerships and professor of nursing in the Omaha division, has been appointed to the Kenneth E. Morehead Endowed Chair in Nursing. Dr. Fiandt has practiced and taught as a family nurse practitioner for many years. 

She has received grants for education and clinical practice from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration. To date, she has led or participated on grants totaling more than $12.5 million. She currently directs a HRSA-funded project to infuse primary care content into undergraduate nursing programs, following national recommendations to expand roles for baccalaureate-prepared nurses in primary care to include more focus on care coordination, health education and transitional care. 

Dr. Leeseberg Stamler has been appointed as the inaugural holder of the newly-established Christine Heide Sorensen Endowed Professor of Nursing. Dr. Stamler’s scholarship focuses on community health education and nursing education.

A professor in the Omaha division, Dr. Leeseberg Stamler has conducted research and published extensively on community health nursing, most notably in the areas of breast cancer screening and diabetes education. In addition, she has contributed substantially to the literature on critical thinking and teaching community health nursing. She served as the lead author for a contributed book on community health nursing in Canada for five editions, with the most recent having been published in 2020. She was honored in 2017 by Nipissing University in Saskatchewan with an on honorary doctorate in letters. 

Dr. Zimmerman, a professor in the Lincoln division, has been appointed to the Charlotte Peck Lienemann and Alumni Distinguished Chair in Nursing. Dr. Zimmerman’s research addresses self-management of cardiovascular conditions and care transitions. She has participated as principal investigator, project director or co-investigator on nearly $15 million in funded projects.

Dr. Zimmerman has presented widely at regional, national and international scientific and professional meetings, and she authored or co-authored 81 manuscripts. She has served on study sections for the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services and the American Heart Association.