By: Valentina Toro
Managing Editor
The School of Nursing earned national recognition, becoming the first public university in Connecticut to be designated a National League for Nursing Center of Excellence.
The university is one of 20 nursing schools and programs selected as 2026 NLN Centers of Excellence across the country.
“This is a significant national recognition,” Michele Vancour, interim dean of the College of Health and Human Services, said in a news release. “We are proud to join 114 institutions nationwide, out of approximately 3,000, to hold this prestigious designation.”
The university was recognized in the category “Promotes the Pedagogical Expertise of Faculty.”
The designation recognizes programs that demonstrate sustained excellence in nursing education.
The university is one of three institutions in Connecticut with the designation and the only public institution.
Fairfield University and Quinnipiac University are the other two schools in the state to receive the recognition.
The designation follows several years of work by the School of Nursing to strengthen faculty development, teaching and curriculum.
Maria Krol, interim executive director of healthcare programs and professor of nursing, said the school began exploring the requirements for becoming a Center of Excellence about two years ago.
Faculty professional development became a major part of the process as the school worked to align its program with new nursing education standards and competency-based education.
“In order to align our faculty with the new essentials and new competency-based education, we started to invest in them by increasing their professional development and encouraging them to obtain certification as nurse educators,” Krol said.
Research, writing and curriculum development also became areas of focus for nursing faculty. Krol and her colleagues collected data, worked with a consultant and prepared a report documenting the school’s efforts.
The School of Nursing submitted its application in April and learned in July that it had been accepted as a Center of Excellence.
The recognition requires the school to continue maintaining high standards in professional education, faculty training and the continued development of its nursing curriculum.
The recognition is renewable every four or five years, according to Krol, meaning faculty will continue the work that contributed to the designation.
The Center of Excellence program recognizes nursing schools and health care organizations for sustained achievements in areas including faculty development, student learning and academic leadership.
For the university, the recognition specifically focuses on the work faculty members have done to improve their teaching expertise.
The honor also places the university among a group of institutions nationally recognized by the NLN for excellence in nursing education.
The university was formally recognized during the Honors Convocation at the 2026 NLN Education Summit in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Sept. 25. The event brought together nursing educators and leaders from institutions across the country.
NLN President and CEO Beverly Malone said the designation reflects the work nursing programs put into maintaining innovation and excellence throughout students’ academic experiences.
“We applaud the 2026 NLN Centers of Excellence and thank them for demonstrating values and actions that transform the ordinary into the extraordinary in nursing education,” Malone said.
