With nearly 100 undergraduate, 140 graduate programs and many more minors, concentrations
and certificates, Saint Louis University offers a truly personalized experience.
ST. LOUIS — The tradition of educational excellence continues at Saint Louis University.
St. Louis Magazine has named five nurses and a graduate student from the Trudy Busch Valentine School
of Nursing as honorees for the 2023 Excellence in Nursing Awards. St. Louis Magazine will recognize the winners online and in the May issue.
Nursing faculty at SLU are nationally recognized for their teaching expertise, nursing
leadership, scholarly research and student mentorship. Faculty members from SLU's
School of Nursing have won numerous prestigious awards, honors and fellowships, including
regular honors from the March of Dimes and Excellence in Nursing Awards.
Students sitting on the grass by the School of Nursing. SLU file photo.
This year, two nursing faculty are honorees in the educator category. A SLU nurse
has won the coveted award 10 times in the past 12 years. In 2018, all of the honorees
for the Excellence in Nursing Educator of the Year award were SLU faculty.
Bobbi Shatto, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing and coordinator for the MSN-CNL program, is nominated
in the Educator category. In 2022, Shatto spearheaded an effort to secure a $298,137
grant to combat the nursing faculty shortage. SLU was one of 11 Missouri colleges and universities
awarded nearly $3 million in grant funds to help enhance nursing education programs
and develop solutions to alleviate staffing shortages nationwide.
Karen Cuvar, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing and level one coordinator for the Traditional BSN
program, is nominated in the Educator category. Cuvar teaches fundamental nursing
courses and online critical care nursing courses. In 2020, Cuvar’s students nominated
her to receive the DAISY Foundation’s DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, citing
her positive, caring attitude, enthusiasm, and love of the nursing profession.
Heather Wade, DNS, assistant professor of nursing, is nominated in the Community Care category. As
COVID-19 took over our community, Wade’s nominator said she moved aside some of her
teaching duties to coordinate, facilitate, and run the SLU COVID-19 vaccine and testing
center. Wade also taught nursing students how to vaccinate thousands of people in
the community at open events, nursing homes, and university-wide vaccine days. Community
members have begun to see Wade as the face of pandemic care.
Christopher Hemmer, DNP, associate professor of nursing, teaches primarily in the graduate nurse practitioner
program, preparing future nurse practitioners to care for patients in areas like primary
care nursing. Hemmer says helping students embark on specialized and unique career
paths in nursing is one of his specialties and one of the reasons he chose to become
a nurse himself. Hemmer studies fractures and osteoporosis in the adult population.
Karen Moore, DNP, associate professor of nursing, is nominated in the Research Category.She recently
received a Fulbright Specialist Award. Moore, who studies global health and international
exchange, will spend up to six weeks in Ireland assisting with the development of
the DNP role and curriculum, strengthening ongoing international nursing exchange
at Dublin City University, and working on the development and curriculum for simulation
within their nursing curriculum. She currently teaches in the DNP program at SLU and
helped to design and coordinate a simulation center at a prior institution.
Founded in 1928, the Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing at Saint Louis University
has achieved a national reputation for its innovative and pioneering programs. Offering
bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral nursing programs, its faculty members are nationally
recognized for their teaching, research and clinical expertise.
Next Steps to SLU
Ready to take the next step? Request more information, schedule a visit or apply for admission.
