$2M from William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust to Support Scholarships for Duke’s Pre-licensure Program

Duke University School of Nursing has received from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust a grant of $2 million to support student scholarships for its new Master of Nursing (MN) program, an accelerated four-semester pre-licensure program replacing the traditional accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. This gift will enable the School to award 16 total Kenan Scholarships, with the first cohort of Kenan Scholars starting in the spring of 2026.

“The Kenan Scholar Program will set Duke’s pre-licensure program apart in terms of our ability to recruit and matriculate talented students who have the potential not only to serve but also to lead in their fields and communities,” said Michael Relf, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, dean of Duke University School of Nursing. “As a first-generation college student myself, I am particularly grateful for this gift and its promise to make an outstanding nursing education accessible to a larger pool of applicants.”

“The William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust is honored to partner with Duke University School of Nursing in this innovative new licensure program for nursing students," said leadership of the Kenan Trust in a statement. "We are confident that increasing access to the exceptional education provided by Duke will help prepare future nurse leaders who will serve their patients and communities with skill, empathy, and expertise.”

Duke's MN program is is one of only two such programs in North Carolina. With a predicted shortfall of 12,500 registered nurses (RNs) in North Carolina by 2033, Duke’s MN program is designed to prepare nurses to enter the workforce in a shorter amount of time. The program integrates interprofessional education, clinical simulation, experiential learning, and clinical practice, supplemented with simulation scenarios that are high-risk but infrequent in clinical practice.

“Scholarships help ensure that financial barriers do not prevent talented individuals from pursuing nursing education at Duke. This is especially vital for the MN program, which aims to prepare a new generation of nurses with advanced skills and leadership potential,” said Kate Gray, Associate Dean of Development and Alumni Affairs.

“We hope that this gift inspires other funders to invest in the School’s pre-licensure program,” said Gray. “At Duke we’re training nurse leaders who will be able to implement nurse-led innovations in healthcare to improve outcomes for patients and nurses alike.”