The 2024 Mary Barker Scholarship is now open.  

The WNA Nurse Practitioner Forum and the Nurses Foundation of Wisconsin are seeking applicants for the Mary Barker APRN Scholarship.
Up to four scholarships are awarded annually (at a maximum of $2,000).  To learn more and apply, please click here.
The successful candidate is pursuing a graduate degree with preparation as an Advance Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) in one of the four APRN practice roles: Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), or Nurse Practitioner (NP), or currently is an APRN in one of the four APRN practice roles, and is pursuing an advanced degree.

Congratulations to recent Mary Barker Scholarship winners

  • Rene Buenzow
  • Amy Crum
  • Amanda Stittleburg

About Mary Barker

Award-winning Professor Emeritus, Pioneer Nurse Practitioner, Role Model, Mentor, Visionary

Mary Barker served as president of the Wisconsin Nurses Association (WNA) Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Council, the precursor to the Nurse Practitioner (NP) Forum, in its infancy and helped guide its efforts in forging advanced practice nursing in Wisconsin. In 1986 Mary was instrumental in establishing the Annual Pharmacology & Clinical Updates which provide education, pharmacology contact hours, policy updates, and opportunity to network for Wisconsin’s advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs). As a professor at UW Oshkosh Mary wrote several grants that benefitted both students and underserved populations: working with migrants in mobile clinics at their work sites, staffing the Living Healthy Clinic providing health care to the uninsured in Winnebago County while also providing a clinical practice site for undergraduate and graduate nursing students. Mary initiated the first post-doctoral Family Nurse Practitioner program in the U.S.

Hundreds of students have been inspired and challenged by Mary’s practical, yet possibility-laden vision of health care delivery. She has been honored by UW Oshkosh and the Governor for excellence in teaching and practice. Mary’s dedication to APRN education was recognized in 2006 with the unveiling of the annual WNA NP Forum Mary Barker Graduate Nursing Scholarship. This scholarship honors Mary’s contributions as a role model, mentor, colleague, leader, Nurse Practitioner pioneer, and visionary.