UW-Eau Claire hires first donor-supported faculty professor in nursing

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has named Dr. Sonja J. Meiers its first Jane W. and James E. Moore Nursing Research Professor in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

Dr. Sonja J. Meiers

Meiers currently is a professor and chair of the department of graduate nursing at Winona State University in Rochester, Minnesota. An accomplished researcher, Meiers also is a respected leader on her campus and within the nursing profession.

“Dr. Meiers’ experience as a researcher and grant writer made her stand out during our search for our inaugural Moore Professorship,” says Dr. Linda Young, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at UW-Eau Claire. “Her research includes regional, national and international studies with interprofessional groups.

“I have had the privilege of working with her in her role as president of the International Family Nursing Association as well as in her role as the graduate director at Winona State. She also has experience in working with major donors.”

Meiers says it will be an honor to serve as the inaugural Jane W. and James E. Moore Nursing Research Professor, and a privilege to represent the Moores, who she describes as visionary donors.

“This appointment means being recognized by my peers for a career of contributions to nursing science and being trusted to promote the scholarship of faculty and students in UW-Eau Claire’s department of nursing,” says Meiers, whose research focuses on enhancing family health and family nursing. “I look forward to collaborating with faculty, students and clinical partners, with Dean Young’s support, to address the research questions and evidence-based practice challenges of our time with all of the populations we collectively serve.”

The Moore Professorship was created to recognize and promote the ongoing research development of a nurse scientist at UW-Eau Claire. In her new role, Meiers will facilitate and lead research activities with nursing faculty and students in high-impact practices such as research and manuscript development.

The Moore Professorship is the first donor-supported faculty professorship in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. The gift came to the university through the UW-Eau Claire Foundation.

Jane Webert Moore graduated from UW-Eau Claire with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1973.

After marrying James Moore and settling in New York City, she worked at the New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center and later at Equitable Life Insurance. She later earned a master’s degree in public administration from New York University and worked in hospitals in New Jersey in human resources.

In 2002, the Moores donated $40,000 to the UW-Eau Claire Foundation, enabling the nursing program to purchase a SimMan, its first computerized simulation manikin.

Meiers earned her diploma from Lutheran Deaconess School of Nursing, her bachelor’s degree from College of St. Teresa, her master’s degree from Winona State University and her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.

Meiers will begin her new position at UW-Eau Claire in January 2022.