Donor Covers Registration for All IUP Students
Courtney Barilar Vose
Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s College of Health Sciences’ third annual Run for the Health of It fundraising 5K and one-mile walk will be held September 27, with free registration offered to all IUP students through the generosity of IUP 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Courtney Barilar Vose.
All funds raised by the event will benefit IUP nursing students, helping to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses required as they prepare for professional practice. IUP’s Nursing program graduates over 100 nurses each year with a 97 percent first-time pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination. This exam is a standardized test used by state regulatory boards to determine if a candidate is safe and ready to practice as an entry-level nurse.
The deadline to register for the race to guarantee a race T-shirt is September 12, but registrations will be accepted until the start of the race. The race begins at 10:00 a.m., starting and finishing at IUP’s Zink Hall.
The racecourse is on the IUP campus and the Hoodlebug Trail, and all ages and fitness levels are welcome.
Vose’s gift of $10,000 is part of IUP’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, Impact 150. The Impact 150 campaign has a goal of $150 million; it is the largest campaign in the history of the university. The campaign is named in honor of the university’s sesquicentennial celebration,
Vose is chief nurse executive at Yale New Haven Health System, Connecticut’s largest healthcare system and one of the nation’s leading academic health systems. She also serves as chief nursing officer at Yale New Haven Hospital, where she oversees nursing and patient care services for the 1,541-bed academic medical center, the primary teaching hospital for the Yale School of Medicine. The hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center and includes Smilow Cancer Hospital, Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital, and specialty outpatient practices across Connecticut. Vose is also an associate clinical professor and senior advisor to the dean for clinical partnerships at the Yale School of Nursing.
Vose brings more than two decades of executive leadership experience and a record of strong outcomes in nursing and hospital performance, with a focus on strengthening partnerships between academic and practice settings. Before joining Yale New Haven Hospital, she served as senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Jersey and as associate professor in the Division of Advanced Practice Nursing at Rutgers School of Nursing. Previously, she held chief nursing officer roles at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, NYP/Allen Hospital, and NYP/Columbia Ambulatory Care Network, and served as assistant professor of clinical nursing at Columbia University School of Nursing. Under her leadership, both NYP hospitals and the Ambulatory Care Network achieved their first Magnet designation awards.
Recognized for leading transformation, Vose has expertise in lean management, employee engagement, hospital operations, and workforce development. Her peer-reviewed publications and presentations have reached national and international audiences. She mentors nurses in leadership and research at Yale, New York University, and Columbia, advancing succession planning and professional growth. Vose has also held prominent regional and national nursing leadership roles. In 2021, she was selected as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and now serves on its Building Health Care Excellence Expert Panel, where she was elected vice chair for 2025 and advanced to chair in 2026.
She is an active member of IUP’s College of Health Sciences Advancement Council. She was honored by IUP with a 2020 IUP Distinguished Alumni Award.
“I grew up in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and IUP will always feel like home,” Vose said. “It’s where so much of my journey began, and I’m incredibly proud to give back to the university and community that gave so much to me. Supporting Run for the Health of It was an easy yes. I love that it brings students together around health, fun, and community. Removing the cost means every student has the opportunity to participate, and that matters to me.
“Today’s IUP students are tomorrow’s leaders, and I’m always happy to invest in them—and in a place I’ll forever be proud to call my alma mater. Go Hawks!”
“IUP alumni, friends, and family are incredibly generous with both their time and treasures,” IUP Vice President for University Advancement Jennifer DeAngelo said. “They continue to demonstrate their commitment to supporting current and future students and advancing IUP in all possible ways. We are very grateful to Dr. Vose for her gift and for sharing her expertise and leadership in the health care fields as a member of our College of Health Sciences Advancement Council.”
Run for the Health of It was developed by the College of Health Sciences faculty and staff in collaboration with colleagues throughout the university and alumni and friends to raise funds for scholarships, research, and innovative programs in the college. Each year, the proceeds from the event benefit a different need in the College of Health Sciences. IUP’s College of Health Sciences includes the departments of Allied Health, Nursing, and Psychology.
The second annual event, held in September 2025, was supported by IUP alumnus Gene Ulishney, a 1975 IUP health and physical education graduate, who donated $5,000 to the program to cover the $25 registration fee for any IUP student. Ulishney, originally from Latrobe, now makes his home in Parkland, Florida. For the second annual event, the race supported the development of a “Food as Medicine” program in the Department of Allied Health that addresses health and nutrition needs in rural communities, raising over $10,000 with 188 registered participants.
The inaugural event, held in April 2025, focused on support for students in IUP’s psychology doctoral program and the David LaPorte Memorial Fund. LaPorte was a neuropsychologist who taught at IUP from 1995 until his passing in May 2022. His productive career included a focus on innovative initiatives to bring mental health resources to rural communities. Registration fees and donations for the first event totaled more than $5,000, resulting in the fund being fully endowed.
Impact 150 centers around raising funds for healthy students, including supporting students academically and personally; a healthy university, including maintaining IUP’s commitment to excellence and innovation; and healthy communities, including IUP’s work to establish a college of osteopathic medicine.
As of March 31, IUP’s Impact 150 comprehensive fundraising campaign stands at more than $114.5 million, or 76.34 percent of goal, with 50,150 gifts from 13,138 donors. This total includes more than $54 million for IUP’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, part of IUP’s commitment to address the rural healthcare crisis. At the time of the public campaign launch of IUP 150 in August 2025, a total of $81,236,852—54 percent of the campaign goal—had been gifted to IUP from 11,673 donors. celebrated during the 2025–26 academic year.
Since its founding in 1875, IUP has evolved from a teacher-training institution into a doctoral research university recognized for its commitment to student success and achievement. IUP’s Impact 150 comprehensive campaign is designed to honor a legacy of educational excellence while looking toward a future of innovation, public service, and leadership in healthcare education, including the first college of osteopathic medicine at a public university in the commonwealth.