New Fellowship to Develop Next Generation of Developmental Disability Nursing Experts

The Golisano Institute for Developmental Disability Nursing at St. John Fisher College will launch a new fellowship program to develop nursing thought leaders who support and promote the health and wellbeing of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Applications are now being accepted for the Golisano Fellowship in Intellectual and Developmental Disability Nursing, with the first cohort slated to begin in summer 2021. Participation in the fellowship program will be funded in full through the support of B. Thomas Golisano and the Golisano Foundation.

“The goal of this fellowship is to create nursing leaders in education, practice, and service who will advance inclusive practices, foster innovation, promote health, and support self-determination of patients with IDD,” said Dr. Dianne Cooney Miner, founding director of the Golisano Institute. “We believe that a nursing workforce equipped with this expertise will help to close the health disparities gap that currently exists among people with IDD across the lifespan.”

Over the course of the 12-month program, Golisano Fellows will engage in interprofessional collaboration and gain content knowledge in education, practice, policy, advocacy, and leadership and will complete an action-learning project focused on improving and promoting the health and well-being of individuals with IDD. Fellows will also receive individualized mentoring from international leaders in the field.

The 2021-2022 inaugural Golisano Fellowship will be structured in a hybrid format, with both on-campus and virtual experiences, and travel permitted, will conclude with a weeklong series of events tentatively planned for June 2022.