NACU Campus Highlights: August 4, 2026

Periodically we highlight how colleges and universities across the NACU network are advancing student success, faculty research, global learning, community engagement, and institutional innovation.

Leadership & Appointments

Hampton University Names Historic Dean of Nursing
Hampton University has appointed alumnus Dr. Michael L. Jones ’20 as dean of its School of Nursing. An accomplished nurse leader, researcher, and educator, Jones becomes the first Black man to serve as dean of the School of Nursing in its history.

Wagner College Appoints New Athletics Director
Wagner College has named Ariel “AP” Pesante as its next Director of Athletics. Pesante joins Wagner from Georgetown University, where he most recently served as Senior Associate Athletics Director for Internal Operations.

Grants, Research & Innovation

Hood College Secures $1 Million for Endowed Nurse Practitioner Chair
Hood College received a $1 million award from the Maryland Department of Commerce’s Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund, matched by $1 million from the College, to support the Ruth Whitaker Holmes ’55 Endowed Nurse Practitioner Chair within the School of Behavioral and Health Sciences.

Merrimack College Expands Life Sciences Workforce Initiatives
Merrimack College has been awarded a $374,999 Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Post Secondary Education and Training Grant to launch the Merrimack Life Sciences Workforce Accelerator, strengthening education and career pathways in the life sciences.

Tuskegee University Awarded $550,000 Aerospace Research Grant
Tuskegee University received a $550,000 federal research grant to establish a Comprehensive Instrumentation Suite for Experimental Aerospace Measurements (CISEAM), expanding the university’s experimental aerospace research capabilities.

Faculty Achievement & Scholarship

Simmons University Professor Receives NEH Public Scholar Grant
Professor Renée Bergland of The Gwen Ifill School for Media, Humanities, and Social Sciences has received a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar Grant for her book project exploring the history and lasting impact of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick.

Wagner College Philosophy Professor Earns NEH Research Grant
Dr. Bernd Goehring, Clinical Assistant Professor of Philosophy, has received a three-year, $220,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant to produce a scholarly edition of portions of the medieval philosopher Henry of Ghent’s Summa.

Institutional Excellence

Nazareth University Maintains Strong Credit Rating
Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings reaffirmed Nazareth University’s BBB+ long-term credit rating with a stable outlook, underscoring the institution’s financial strength despite ongoing challenges across the higher education sector.

Community Impact

Ohio Northern University Helps Expand Access to Legal Services in Rural Communities
Ohio Northern University’s Claude W. Pettit College of Law is partnering in Lawyers = Justice: A Northwest Ohio Legal Collaborative, an initiative designed to address the shortage of attorneys serving rural communities by strengthening pathways into legal practice across Northwest Ohio.