The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a historically Black university, has received a grant from Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield to create the first endowed professorship at the university. The first holder of the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield Endowed Nursing Professorship in Rural Health will be Diann Williams, chair of the department of nursing at the university.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff received approval for its nursing program this summer and is now enrolling its first students. Diann Williams was the vice president for assessment and nursing and allied health at Southeast Arkansas College in Pine Bluff. She is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and holds a master’s degree in nursing from Saint Louis University.