Two faculty members of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) have been awarded 2022-23 University System of Maryland (USM) Wilson H. Elkins Professorships, which supports professors and researchers who demonstrate exemplary ability to inspire students and whose professional work and scholarly endeavors make a positive impact at their institutions, across USM, and beyond.
Heather Congdon (left) and Barbara Resnick
The professorships, awarded through Wilson H. Elkins Endowment funds, are intended to support compelling projects with a focus on research, scholarship, or community engagement that will allow each Elkins Professor to make an important contribution to the teaching, research, or public service mission of the institution and the entire USM.
The UMB honorees are Barbara Resnick, PhD ’96, RN, CRNP, FAAN, FAANP, UMB Distinguished University Professor and professor, Sonya Ziporkin Gershowitz Chair in Gerontology, and founder and co-director of the Biology and Behavior Across the Lifespan Research Center of Excellence at the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON); and Heather B. Congdon, PharmD, BCPS, CDE, FNAP, professor of practice, sciences, and health outcomes research, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, and co-director of UMB’s Center for Interprofessional Education.
“The quality of research and commitment to educating our students is a consistent theme throughout our university system,” said USM Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Student Life Joann Boughman, PhD. “It is special to recognize these select faculty members with these prestigious awards in support of their work.”
Candidates for the Elkins Professorship must possess a solid record of achievement in their academic or professional disciplines; demonstrate a desire and ability to lead and inspire undergraduate and graduate students; show significant achievement beyond their traditional disciplines; and demonstrate ability and intent to pursue scholarly or professional endeavors beyond USM.
As an Elkins Professor, Resnick will advance the development of a replicable model for successfully implementing national guidelines on pain management in older individuals in long-term care facilities to improve assessment, diagnosis, and pain management among residents. She has received a $68,000 award.
“We congratulate Dr. Resnick on this tremendous honor,” said Jane Kirschling, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Bill and Joanne Conway Dean of UMSON. “Her nationally and internationally recognized research on the care of older adults has had major clinical significance, providing evidence of the importance of function-focused care in maintaining overall physical ability and decreasing behavioral symptoms. Her project as a Wilson H. Elkins Professor holds tremendous promise for informing clinical practice by improving pain management among older adults in long-term care settings. We are extremely proud of our nurse scientist colleague and deeply appreciate the University System of Maryland for supporting her scholarly work and that of others through the Elkins Professorship.”
Congdon will continue her Elkins Academic Transformation Professorship research from the prior academic year and collaborate with the USM Kirwan Center on a digital badging initiative, creating a system in which students earn digital badges based on the three categories of an interprofessional learning continuum developed by the Centre for Interprofessional Education at the University of Toronto. The model places IPE experiences and activities into three areas: introductory exposure experiences, immersion and development activities, and entry-to-practice competence activities. Each badge tier would be mapped to specific interprofessional competencies and require completion of certain activities to earn the badge. Congdon received a $40,000 research award to continue her research in 2022-23.
Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, FAAPS, FCP, dean and professor of UMSOP, congratulated Congdon on the USM award.
“This professorship is well-deserved. Dr. Congdon has a record of achievement as a pharmacist, educator, and clinician,” Eddington said. “We are thrilled that USM is continuing to support her in advancing interprofessional education at our institutions and beyond.”
USM’s other Elkins Professorships this year include Paz Galupo, PhD, professor of psychology at Towson University, and Karen B. Cook-Bell, PhD, associate professor and chair of the Department of History and Government at Bowie State University.
The Wilson H. Elkins Professorship honors the late Wilson H. Elkins, who led the University of Maryland, College Park to new levels of distinction as its president from 1954 to 1978. The Wilson H. Elkins Endowment Fund supports the professorship awards in combination with institutional and system resources. This endowment and others like it further USM's mission of teaching, research, and public service. For more information, visit the Wilson H. Elkins Professorship webpage.