Dr. Jeremy Beane recently established the Dr. Jeremy Beane Scholarship for Primary Care Nurse Practitioners Endowment to give back to a profession and university that he said have been such an important part of his life.
“My experiences at ECU, across multiple stages of my education, helped shape the clinician and educator I am today and deepened my commitment to primary care and to advancing the nurse practitioner profession,” Beane said. “Through mentoring and precepting students, as well as advocating for our profession, I have become increasingly passionate about investing in the people who will shape its future.”
The Beane scholarship is aimed at supporting Doctor of Nursing Practice and Family Nurse Practitioner students because the pursuit of those degrees can impose a significant financial and barriers for potential students.
“My hope is that this scholarship will make doctoral education a little more accessible for students preparing to serve in primary care,” Beane said. He knows first-and the importance of scholarships as he received several throughout his education, and “every dollar helped. Those scholarships eased some of the financial burden and reminded me that others believed in my potential.”
Beane is a three-time Pirate, having graduated as a Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2020 and a BSN in 2014, as well as a graduate certificate in Nursing Education. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in public health from UNC-Greensboro and became a nurse after graduating from Guilford Technical Community College with an associate’s degree in nursing. He is also certified as an HIV specialist.
Beane currently works as a Family NP at Novant Health – Carolina Family Physicians in Charlotte. Since 2022, he has given back to Pirate Nursing as an adjunct instructor and a preceptor for other ECU nursing students.
Beane said the timing feels right to establish the scholarship because he’s reached a point in his career where he can begin thinking about the legacy he wants to leave. Ultimately, this gift is about paying forward the opportunities I have been given and creating opportunities for future nurse practitioners to make their own impact on primary care and the profession.
Beane said his husband, David Wieland, lost his mom recently. She passed away suddenly, without any estate plan, prompting them to prepare an estate plan so they would have our wishes well documented.
“My hope is that these scholarships will help develop nurse practitioners who provide exceptional care, lead and advocate for the profession, and ultimately make a difference in the lives of the patients and communities they serve,” Beane said. “If this scholarship can continue opening doors for future generations of nurse practitioners long after I am gone, that would be a meaningful legacy.”
Dr. Mark Hand, an ECU clinical professor of nursing, and his husband, Terence Mollohan, recently established a scholarship in honor of Terence’s parents, Burton and Trudy, recognizing their lifelong commitment to compassion, service and caring for others.
The Burton and Trudy Mollohan Endowment scholarship supports North Carolina residents who maintain a 3.0 grade point average or higher. Although Terence studied computer science in Rhode Island, he wanted to support nursing students and be part of their journey, creating an opportunity to connect with and get to know the students the scholarship will support.
“We want to recognize them and keep their names alive and that by doing that, invest in the students who will carry forward their same spirt of integrity and service,” Hand said.
This is the second scholarship that Hand has had a role in funding for nursing students. Before coming to ECU, he taught nursing at Rivier University in New Hampshire. After he lost his sister to cancer, he created a scholarship in her memory to benefit male students.
“Both my brother and sister both died of cancer. She was always proud of me as a male nurse,” Hand said.
To support this scholarship, click here and search for the Burton and Trudy Mollohan Endowment.
2026 marks a meaningful milestone for the ECU College of Nursing as the college honors the upcoming retirement of Dr. Rebecca Bagley, a beloved educator, mentor and national leader in midwifery education.
Dr. Bagley’s story is deeply rooted in ECU. She began her journey as a student at the College of Nursing, returned as faculty and spent decades shaping the nurse-midwifery program while continuing to practice clinically and serve in leadership roles across the country. Her impact can be seen not only in the program’s success, but in the countless nurses and midwives she has mentored along the way.
As she prepares for retirement, Dr. Bagley is creating a scholarship in her honor to support future nursing students, a fitting continuation of the legacy she has built over more than 35 years.
If you are interested in supporting the Rebecca Bagley Scholarship Endowment in Midwifery, please click here.
Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is the leading cause of maternal death and family dissolution in the U.S., with eastern North Carolina experiencing some of the most severe outcomes nationwide
Thanks to a $15,486 grant from the ECU Health Foundation, ECU College of Nursing faculty Courtney Caiola, PhD and Chandra Speight, PhD, in partnership with David Ryan, MD, founding clinician of ECU IMPACT, are leading a new initiative to improve outcomes in our region. They are working together, along with community partners, to improve regional screening and referral processes so at-risk groups can be connected to ECU IMPACT’s evidence based perinatal and addiction services.
This project reflects the shared mission of the College of Nursing and ECU Health, and is made possible by the generosity of ECU Health Foundation donors who are driving innovative solutions where they are needed most.
Donors like Atticus Fisher understand the life-changing impact of nurses because he saw it firsthand in his mother, Mary Lou Fisher, whose compassion and skill touched lives across the globe.
Mary Lou Schulz Fisher graduated with a Bachelor of Science in nursing from East Carolina University in 1985, and went on to live a full life as a successful travel nurse.
Mary Lou’s excellence caught the attention of President Jimmy Carter, who invited her to join a medical mission to Costa Rica. Inspired following the trip, she continued her education to earn a Master of Science in Nursing, which opened doors for her to serve internationally with Samaritan’s Purse. Through this work, she cared for people in need around the world.
Mary Lou passed away in 2016, but her legacy of compassion continues. To honor her lifelong commitment to caring for others, the Fisher family established the Mary Lou Schulz Fisher Scholarship at ECU, the place where her nursing journey began. To date, the scholarship has provided $1,000 awards to five students.
“As a senior pursuing a BSN degree, this scholarship will significantly help ease the financial burden of my education. The Fisher family’s support allows me to focus more on my academic and career goals without the much-added stress of finances,” said Haley Gipson, a recipient of the Mary Lou Schulz Fisher scholarship. “Not only that, but it encourages and motivates me to work hard and make the most of the opportunities that have been provided to me, just like Mary Lou Fisher did herself. I hope that one day I will be as inspirational as her.”
Sarah Swain, executive director of Health Sciences Philanthropy with the ECU Health Foundation, said creating a scholarship is a powerful way to honor a loved one’s legacy.
“We’re deeply grateful to families like the Fishers who understand the impact of an ECU education and are committed to transforming the lives of our students — both now and for generations to come,” Swain said.
To learn more about supporting College of Nursing students through an academic scholarship or to make a gift, contact Swain at 252-847-5874.
A generous gift from the Bedford Falls Foundation-DAF, through the ECU Health Foundation, will launch a first-of-its-kind initiative at East Carolina University to establish a medic-to-nurse pathway that will bring military medics through the accelerated Bachelor of Science program in the College of Nursing.
The five-year, $2 million partnership strengthens the relationship between ECU and the military and will bridge the transition between active military service and careers in community health care.