Parfitt, Fitrer receive Collaboration for Change award

Tom Parfitt, director of professional education, and Laura Fitrer, senior program manager of professional education, received the Collaboration for Change award during the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement’s 2026 Engage for Change Awards ceremony held Sept. 30.

The award recognizes a collaborative community-based partnership between campus and community stakeholders. The partnership recognized is between the School of Professional and Continuing Studies (SPCS) and Sheltering Arms Institute, which collaborated to develop the Nurse Leadership for Post-Acute Care Nursing program, a leadership program offered in partnership with and exclusively for post-acute care nurses working at Sheltering Arms Institute.

Representing Sheltering Arms Institute at the award ceremony were Misty Woodward, vice president and chief nursing officer, and Kelly Merrick, vice president of philanthropy. The award was given by SPCS Dean Jamelle Wilson.