Evelyn J. Barclay Scholarship
For Nurses Pursuing a Doctoral Degree in Public Health, Nursing Education or Research
Evelyn Barclay dedicated her life to expanding the nursing profession by increasing the number of bachelor-prepared nurses. With a degree in public health nursing and an MS in Nursing Education, she became the founding director of the California State University, Los Angeles nursing program.
Ms. Barclay came to Cal State in 1957 from UCLA, where she served as Associate Dean of Nursing. She built a faculty noted not only for its skill in teaching, but also for clinical practice. The initial program was designed to advance junior-year students holding a registered nurse license at the associate degree level to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. Beginning in 1959, under Ms. Barclay’s leadership, the curriculum expanded to four years, allowing freshman students to enter the BSN program, including eligibility for the RN state licensing exam. For her efforts, she earned an Outstanding Professor Award in 1968, before retiring in 1969. Evelyn Barclay passed away on April 20, 2006.
The Evelyn Barclay Scholarship is given with a preference to a doctoral applicant studying public health, nursing education, or research.
Featured Evelyn J. Barclay Scholarship Recipients
These three featured scholarship recipients honor the legacy of Evelyn Barclay by expanding upon their clinical experience to teach, conduct research, and volunteer with nursing associations and other organizations:
Alyssa Abbott, MS, RN
- Began her nursing career at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), caring for medically complex adult surgical patients, eventually serving as a charge nurse and preceptor, mentoring novice nurses and new staff in their transition to clinical practice
- Taught clinical courses in adult and public health nursing for both Boston College and the MGH Institute of Health Professions
- Became board certified as an Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner by the ANCC
- Served as a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, Alpha Chi Chapter, and volunteered with the Emerging Scholar and Professional Organization of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA)
Ghada Abu Irsheed, PhD, RN
- Worked in different critical care units as a Registered/In-Charge Nurse and Head-Nurse at King Abdulla University Hospital in Jordan
- Taught undergraduate nursing clinical courses at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Nursing (UIC/CON)
- Worked as a research assistant at the UIC/CON with multidisciplinary teams in two different R01 Randomized Control Trials funded by the NIH, studying different innovative sleep interventions among type 1 diabetes and pregnant women populations
- Served as an active member within the Graduate Women in Science, SIGMA Theta Tau (Alpha Lambda Chapter), Graduate Nursing Student Academy of the AANC, and Jordan Nurses and Midwives Council
Corinna Hughes, DNP, FNP-C
- Worked in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota
- Taught as a nursing clinical instructor at the Bluegrass Community & Technical College
- Volunteered at triage clinics in Haiti, at local high schools and health advocacy organizations to provide sexual, reproductive, and mental health education, and in Ecuador with an experienced midwife
- Served as a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, American Association of Critical Care Nurses, Kentucky Coalition of Nurse Practitioners & Nurse Midwives, Lexington Chapter National Black Nurse Association, Delta Psi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing, and the University of Kentucky Graduate Nursing Activities and Advisory Council