SUNY Chancellor King Announces Third Cohort of SUNY Nursing Simulation Fellows
October 26, 2026
12 Fellows Selected to Advance SUNY's Effort to Fully Leverage Nursing Simulation in Licensure Programs
Fellows Will Enhance and Expand the New SUNY Healthcare Simulation Resource Library; Library Accessible Here
Albany, NY — State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. today announced the third cohort of the SUNY Nursing Simulation Fellowship. The 12-member cohort includes three returning fellows from the second cohort, and nine new fellows. Through professional development and the creation of system-wide resources to support simulation professionals, the SUNY Nursing Simulation Fellowship will advance simulation-based education within SUNY's nursing licensure programs and across the state.
"SUNY is at the forefront of utilizing innovative, simulation-based models to help train the next generation of New York State's healthcare workforce," said SUNY Chancellor King. "The SUNY Nursing Simulation Fellowship has been instrumental in building SUNY's simulation materials that provide our students with hands-on training opportunities. I commend each of our SUNY Nursing Simulation Fellows for their continued work to expand our abilities to prepare more nurses, which will help SUNY accomplish Governor Kathy Hochul's goal of growing the number of highly skilled healthcare workers in New York State."
SUNY Trustee and Chair of the Academic Medical Centers and Hospitals Committee Eric Corngold said, "SUNY's Nursing Simulation Fellowship has helped ensure our students can receive high-quality education and training opportunities that prepare them to enter New York State's healthcare workforce. We congratulate the new and returning faculty members selected for this year's fellowship and thank Governor Hochul and the State Legislature for their continued investment in and support for SUNY's healthcare programs."
The SUNY Nursing Simulation Fellowship was established in response to recommendations from the SUNY Future of Health Care Workforce Task Force, convened to help address New York's critical healthcare workforce shortage and advance the Governor's goal of increasing the healthcare workforce in New York State by 20 percent. Through advanced professional development in simulation, the Fellowship prepared selected faculty as leaders and resources for their peers to foster a pool of expertise and best practices across SUNY. Fellows also play a key role in establishing the SUNY Healthcare Simulation Resource Library, launched in May 2026, which provides resources to support simulation-based education across SUNY and beyond. The library is accessible at https://www.suny.edu/health/simulation-library/.
The following SUNY faculty members have been selected as new Fellows:
- Elicia Balls-Skipper, Columbia-Greene Community College
- Maureen Carman, Westchester Community College
- Andrea Johnson-Ramsay, Dutchess Community College
- Lisa McAnn, Finger Lakes Community College
- Jennifer Monte de Oca, Rockland Community College
- Heather Murphy-Loucks, SUNY Orange
- Nicole Murtagh, Hudson Valley Community College
- Beth Sturm, Suffolk County Community College
- Kimberly Swan, State University of New York at Stony Brook
The following SUNY faculty members are returning to the Fellowship for a second year:
- Janie Dennis, SUNY Brockport
- Brian Kling, Onondaga Community College
- Samantha McCarthy, SUNY Canton
Building on the success of the past year, the SUNY Nursing Simulation Fellows will continue to play a key role in enhancing and expanding the SUNY Healthcare Simulation Resource Library. The SUNY Healthcare Simulation Resource Library is a new SUNY-wide resource designed to support current and future simulation education. The library includes the SUNY Share Simulation & Interprofessional Education (IPE) Activity Repository, a curated collection of vetted, ready-to-download simulation scenarios across diverse clinical specialties. The library also includes the SUNY SimAcademy: Professional Development for Health Care Simulation, which introduces professionals to standards of best practice in simulation. Together, these resources help make education and training in simulation best practices freely accessible to SUNY professionals across the system.
State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, said, "Before 2023, many nursing programs in New York had to limit admissions because there were not enough clinical placements for their students. That year, the Legislature passed my bill allowing nursing students to complete up to one third of their clinical training through simulation. But we knew the equipment was only part of the answer. Someone has to write the scenarios and run the training. That is the work these Fellows do. Most of them teach at community colleges, where many of our future nurses begin. Because of their work, a student does not have to wait for a hospital placement to learn how to respond to emergencies. I thank Chancellor King, the SUNY Board of Trustees, and the 12 faculty members who are making this law work for students across New York."
State Assemblymember Donna Lupardo said, "SUNY is to be commended for pursuing the highest standard of excellence in simulation-based learning. In addition to ongoing support for the Nursing Simulation Fellows, SUNY's investment in four Nursing Simulation Centers of Excellence, shows an unmatched commitment to quality nursing education. Binghamton University is proud to host the latest Center and is thankful for the ongoing work being done to advance professional development."
State Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest said, "Congratulations to the new cohort of SUNY Nursing Simulation Fellows! As a nurse myself, I have high hopes for these bright minded students that will help advance simulation-based education across the state."
This announcement builds on a series of efforts by SUNY to expand and enhance nursing education through simulation-based learning. In October, Governor Hochul announced a $10 million investment to establish a SUNY Nursing Simulation Center of Excellence at the State University of New York at Binghamton, building on the landmark $62 million investment announced in 2025, which established new SUNY Nursing Simulation Centers on three SUNY campuses. With the addition of the State University of New York at Binghamton, SUNY's statewide nursing simulation network now includes four centers across the System: Systemwide Centers of Excellence at the State University of New York at Binghamton University and the State University of New York at Buffalo, as well as Regional Nursing Simulation Centers at SUNY Canton and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. In May, Chancellor King announced the official launch of the new SUNY Healthcare Simulation Resource Library, developed by the SUNY Nursing Simulation Fellows.
Additionally, SUNY has invested more than $4.4 million through its High Needs Nursing Fund to further advance simulation-based education across 40 of SUNY's nursing programs. Over three consecutive years, the SUNY High Needs Nursing Fund has equipped SUNY campuses with the necessary tools, training, and resources to modernize and expand simulation experiences for students.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state's only college of optometry, 12 Educational Opportunity Centers, over 30 ATTAIN digital literacy labs, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.7 million students across its portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2025, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and annually one in three New Yorkers who earn a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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