In honor of her distinguished career as a practitioner and educator, Dr. Susan Stone, DNSc, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, was inducted into the first class of the Frontier Nursing University (FNU) Alumni Hall of Fame. Dr. Stone joined Dr. Pat Caudle, Kitty Ernst, Dr. Kerri Schuiling, and Dr. Joan Slager in the inaugural class. The awardees were honored at the FNU Alumni Hall of Fame and Service Awards Dinner on Thursday, September 25, at the Kentucky Castle in Versailles, Kentucky.
Dr. Stone’s journey at Frontier started in 1991 when she graduated as a nurse-midwife from FNU’s first distance learning class. She served as Dean from 2000-2014 and as President from 2001-2024, holding both positions simultaneously from 2001-2014. Today, as FNU President Emerita and FNU’s Distinguished Chair of Midwifery and Nursing, she promotes midwifery and nursing both nationally and internationally.
“Dr. Stone is a dedicated advocate for access; access to education for nurses who want to become advanced practice nurses, and access to quality healthcare for all,” said Dr. Schuiling. “She has been nationally recognized for exponentially increasing the number of nurse-midwives and other advanced practice professionals practicing in areas of highest need.”
Dr. Stone came to Frontier in 1991 after 10 years of working as a maternity nurse in a small rural hospital in Upstate New York. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing as well as a master’s in nursing administration from SUNY College of Technology. She served as an obstetrical supervisor at Little Falls Hospital in Little Falls, N.Y., and as the program director of the Prenatal Care Assistance Program at Bassett Health Care in Cooperstown, N.Y. After completing her Post-Master’s Certificate in Nurse-Midwifery at Frontier, she practiced as a full-scope nurse-midwife at Bassett Healthcare for nearly a decade. She later earned a Doctor of Nursing Science from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
While practicing as a certified nurse-midwife at Bassett HealthCare, Dr. Stone continued her affiliation with Frontier, serving as course faculty, regional clinical coordinator, assistant clinical director, and program director of the Community-Based Nurse-Midwifery Education Program. She was appointed as the Nurse-Midwifery Program Director in 1996. She relocated to Kentucky in 1998 to devote her full effort to the education of advanced practice nurses and nurse-midwives at Frontier. In 2001, Dr. Stone became president of Frontier, serving as both the president and dean before relinquishing the dean duties in 2014 to focus solely on her role as president.
During Dr. Stone’s tenure as President, Frontier Nursing University transformed from a small school offering one certificate program in nurse-midwifery to one of the largest and most successful graduate schools of nursing in the United States. Under her leadership, five new advanced practice nursing programs were added, the certificate-granting programs transitioned to degree-granting, and the curriculum transitioned to an award-winning community-based distance-education model. This innovation allowed students to pursue their advanced degrees at Frontier while remaining in the communities where they lived and worked. With students from all over the country able to attend, enrollment rose rapidly from 200 students to more than 2,700 today.
“Susan Stone has left a legacy of growth and transformation at Frontier,” said former FNU Dean of Nursing and fellow Alumni Hall of Fame inductee Dr. Joan Slager. “She has demonstrated vision and leadership that have resulted in the exponential expansion of our programs while remaining staunchly true to our mission.”
Dr. Stone was inducted into the prestigious National Academy of Medicine Class of 2018 as one of only two nurses in her class. She served as president of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) from 2019-2020. She is a Fellow at both ACNM and the American Academy of Nursing. She was the recipient of ACNM’s Kitty Ernst Award in 1999, which recognizes “innovative, creative endeavors in midwifery practice and women’s health care.” Other honors include the 2011 American Public Health Association’s prestigious Felicia Stewart Advocacy Award, which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a strong commitment to advocacy on behalf of reproductive health and rights.
She has presented at such prestigious events as Beyond Flexner (2018, Atlanta); the American College of Nurse-Midwives annual meeting (2017, Chicago, Ill.); the International Midwifery Conference in Education in Research (2012, Nottingham, England); and the International Confederation of Midwives 28th Triennial Congress (2008, Glasgow, Scotland).
“Being a member of the first class of inductees into the Frontier Nursing University Alumni Hall of Fame is an incredible honor,” Dr. Stone said. “Graduating as part of the first class in Frontier’s distance learning program was a life-changing opportunity. It not only allowed me to achieve my dream of practicing as a nurse-midwife but also opened the door to a deeply fulfilling career—one focused on educating Frontier students and helping expand access to high-quality health care across communities near and far. To be recognized for that work is truly humbling and profoundly meaningful.”
