Donald Grimes, the recipient of a 2020 IUP Graduate Student Outstanding Research Award, has chosen to “give back” to students affected by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic by donating his monetary prize to the IUP Student Assistance Fund.
Grimes, of Newport County, Rhode Island, is a student in IUP's PhD in Nursing program.
I wanted to help respond to students' financial needs as a result of the pandemic with my award,” he said.
IUP established the Emergency Response Fund in March to address the needs of students financially affected by the coronavirus pandemic. As of May 1, more than 350 members of the IUP community raised almost $190,000 for the fund, which has assisted more than 240 students. The greatest need of students applying for assistance from the fund is emergency aid for housing, travel home, temporary storage, and online learning assistance.
“I remain in awe of all our students who are contributing to the Emergency Response Fund,” Vice President for University Advancement Khatmeh Osseiran-Hanna said. “I am proud of students like Donald, who are helping their fellow Crimson Hawks. They are indeed an inspiration to all of us in these trying and difficult times. As Donald was awarded an appreciation award for his research in one of the most noble professions, on the front lines in combating COVID, we are so appreciative of his giving it forward to help his classmates at IUP.”
The Graduate Student Outstanding Research Awards competition is part of the university's annual Research Appreciation Week. For health and safety reasons during the coronavirus pandemic, events were held online.
Grimes is the nurse-in-charge in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. This fall, he will begin work as an adjunct faculty member in the graduate school at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts.
His doctoral research project, “Professional Nursing Values of Second-Degree Nursing Students and Influence by Clinical Nursing Faculty,” examined how professional nursing values are challenged daily in nurses' practice, yet they are not fully integrated into entry-level professional nursing education. Grimes's faculty mentor is Lora Hromadik.
Earlier this month, Brian Sateriale, a student in the English/Literature and Criticism PhD program, donated his $500 cash prize from the Three-Minute Thesis competition to the Emergency Response Fund, as well. That competition was also part of IUP's Research Appreciation Week.
Gifts to the IUP Student Assistance Fund will become part of IUP's $75-million Imagine Unlimited Campaign, which will enable IUP to step forward as a national leader by transforming the student experience through scholarships, program enhancements, and new and modernized facilities.