Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing celebrates Class of 2026 graduates, nursing community

The 64 graduates in the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing Class of 2026 and supporters of the nursing community at UMass Chan Medical School were recognized on Friday, May 29, during the school’s annual awards ceremony.

“Today, we gather not simply to recognize achievements, but to celebrate a community—one rooted in compassion, scholarship, collaboration and a shared commitment to advancing health and healing,” said Joan Vitello-Cicciu, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAHA, FAAN, the Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair in Nursing, dean of the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing and professor of nursing.

Dean Vitello-Cicciu invited first-year Doctor of Nursing Practice student Amanda Berry to the podium to share her story about growing up in Newtown, Connecticut, during the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Earlier this month, Berry received the first-place award at the 22nd annual Gerald F. Berlin Prize for Creative Writing Award Ceremony for the piece that she shared, “The Look on Their Faces.”

“I saw teachers return to classrooms carrying grief they never asked for,” Berry said. “I learned that showing up does not fix everything, but absence makes pain sharper. So, in pediatrics, I show up, I pull the chair close. I kneel, so I'm eye level with parents and patients. I explain things more than once, not because they aren't listening, but because fear rearranges what the brain can hold.”

Vitello-Cicciu announced that the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing at UMass Chan would establish a scholarship in honor of Chancellor Michael F. Collins and his wife, Maryellen Collins. Chancellor Collins is stepping down as chancellor at the end of June after 19 years of leading UMass Chan.

“This scholarship will be awarded to a student who demonstrates the kind of transformative leadership that Chancellor Collins has modeled so consistently—leadership that inspires change, elevates others and advances the greater good. In doing to, the legacy of both Michael and Maryellen Collins will continue to live on through the next generation of nursing leaders who will carry forward their values and vision,” Vitello-Cicciu said.

Chancellor Collins presented the Chancellor’s Award, the highest honor a graduating student can receive, to Nicholas McElroy, RN, a Doctor of Nursing Practice student in the Family Nurse Practitioner Track. A student leader of the UMass Chan Dominican Republic Health Initiative, part of the nursing school’s Global Health Pathway, McElroy focused his scholarly work on the needs of community health workers in the Dominican Republic. His research led to the development of educational initiatives that improve the ability of community health workers to deliver care and improve health outcomes for the marginalized communities they serve.

PhD student William “Bill” Mar, RN, MSN, who will present the class address on Sunday, May 31, received the Dean’s Award for outstanding work on his dissertation. Mar, whose background as the son of Chinese immigrants gave him insight into the challenges faced by new Americans with limited English proficiency, investigated clinical nurses’ decision-making process when determining whether to initiate interpreter services.

Susan Feeney, DNP, FNP-C, FNP-BC, FAANP, associate professor of nursing, received the Faculty Daisy Award, which recognizes contributions a faculty member makes to the future of nursing.

2026 Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing award recipients