2025
First gift from alumna, nursing leader Dr. Sonja R. Fuqua
Deciding to donate toward the new School of Nursing under construction at the University of Mississippi Medical Center was easy for Dr. Sonja R. Fuqua, RN (BSN, ’82, MSN, ’96).
The first philanthropist to give toward the new home for UMMC’s nursing program, Fuqua said her $250,000 gift of a named classroom is another way she can support the place where her nursing studies started.
“For me, nursing is not something I do. Nursing is who I am,” she said. “This is where my roots were established in nursing.”
Construction started this summer on the new facility, which will accommodate an enrollment increase of up to 25%. The project, priced at more than $65 million, will include the former University Rehabilitation building, one of the oldest on the UMMC campus and will be visible from Lakeland Drive.
Fuqua, who has a Patient-Centered Medical Home Content Expert Certification, retired from UMMC after a career as a labor and delivery nurse and clinical nurse educator of nearly twodecades. She was also a preceptor and mentor to nursing students while at UMMC, helping them gain labor and delivery experience.
She left her clinical practice at UMMC to serve the Jackson Heart Study as manager of research and recruitment.
Fuqua then turned her attentions to community health centers, working first for G.A. Carmichael Family Health Center and now as chief clinical services officer for the Community Health Center Association of Mississippi.
Each facet of her nursing career is community-centered, she said.
“Maternal-infant nursing is community nursing at heart,” Fuqua said. “The birth of a baby and the care of a mother impacts the entire family. This is one of the many ways nursing plays a critical role in the health of Mississippi.”
In 2017, Fuqua showed her support for the UMMC School of Nursing by establishing the Sonja R. Fuqua, Ph.D., R.N. Sigma Theta Tau Endowed Scholarship in Nursing.
“I saw giving to help build the new School of Nursing and the Fuqua scholarship as opportunities to leave a legacy at the School of Nursing.”
An initial $25,000 gift established the scholarship endowment, and an estimated $221,534 planned gift will fund the scholarship for nursing students who are members of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society, Theta Beta Chapter, at UMMC. The scholarship gives preference to students who are from diverse and historically underrepresented communities and who have an interest in clinical practice.
Fuqua was an inaugural member of the chapter and has served Sigma Theta Tau, an international honorary society for nurses, at the organizational level as regional coordinator of Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee.
Fuqua’s gift is especially meaningful, given her dedication to the UMMC School of Nursing, said Dr. Tina Martin, dean of the school.
“Dr. Fuqua has influenced the care of countless patients through her dedication to community health,” Martin said. “Now, through her generous gift of a classroom in our new School of Nursing, she will continue to improve health in Mississippi through the education of the next generation of nurses. She will continue to be a role model for nursing faculty, our graduates and our students.”
Among the students she mentored at UMMC is Dr. Audwin Fletcher, professorand director of Family Nursing Practitioner-Adult Geriatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner.
“Sonja is probably one of the most sincere and passionate nurses I know,” said Fletcher when the Fuqua Scholarship was announced. “Her genuine concern for her patients inspired me over 25 years ago as a student nurse. She has a heart of gold, and her inner being will not allow her to be anything else but a seed sower.”
Fuqua said she relishes leading the way in philanthropy for the UMMC School of Nursing. “I hope that by giving to the School of Nursing, someone else is inspired to do the same.”
Show your support
To fully fund the construction of a new School of Nursing, an additional $10 million will be raised over the next three years. Pledges may be paid over five years, and the start date is flexible.
Contact Harold Brewer at 601-815-3738 or hbrewer@umc.edu to learn how you can support this important project.