Third Annual IUP College of Health Sciences “Run for the Health of It” 5K Race Set for Sept. 27

Indiana University of Pennsylvania's College of Health Sciences' third annual Run for the Health of It fundraising 5K and one-mile walk will be held September 27, with free registration offered to all IUP students through the generosity of IUP 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Courtney Barilar Vose.

All funds raised by the event will benefit IUP nursing students, helping to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses required as they prepare for professional practice. IUP's Nursing program graduates over 100 nurses each year with a 97 percent first-time pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination. This exam is a standardized test used by state regulatory boards to determine if a candidate is safe and ready to practice as an entry-level nurse.

The deadline to register for the race to guarantee a race T-shirt is September 12, but registrations will be accepted until the start of the race. The race begins at 10:00 a.m., starting and finishing at IUP's Zink Hall.

The racecourse is on the IUP campus and the Hoodlebug Trail, and all ages and fitness levels are welcome.

Vose's gift of $10,000 is part of IUP's comprehensive fundraising campaign, Impact 150. The Impact 150 campaign has a goal of $150 million; it is the largest campaign in the history of the university. The campaign is named in honor of the university's sesquicentennial celebration,

Vose is chief nurse executive at Yale New Haven Health System, Connecticut's largest healthcare system and one of the nation's leading academic health systems. She also serves as chief nursing officer at Yale New Haven Hospital, where she oversees nursing and patient care services for the 1,541-bed academic medical center, the primary teaching hospital for the Yale School of Medicine. The hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center and includes Smilow Cancer Hospital, Yale New Haven Children's Hospital, Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital, and specialty outpatient practices across Connecticut. Vose is also an associate clinical professor and senior advisor to the dean for clinical partnerships at the Yale School of Nursing.

Vose brings more than two decades of executive leadership experience and a record of strong outcomes in nursing and hospital performance, with a focus on strengthening partnerships between academic and practice settings. Before joining Yale New Haven Hospital, she served as senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Jersey and as associate professor in the Division of Advanced Practice Nursing at Rutgers School of Nursing. Previously, she held chief nursing officer roles at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, NYP/Allen Hospital, and NYP/Columbia Ambulatory Care Network, and served as assistant professor of clinical nursing at Columbia University School of Nursing. Under her leadership, both NYP hospitals and the Ambulatory Care Network achieved their first Magnet designation awards.

Recognized for leading transformation, Vose has expertise in lean management, employee engagement, hospital operations, and workforce development. Her peer-reviewed publications and presentations have reached national and international audiences. She mentors nurses in leadership and research at Yale, New York University, and Columbia, advancing succession planning and professional growth. Vose has also held prominent regional and national nursing leadership roles. In 2021, she was selected as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and now serves on its Building Health Care Excellence Expert Panel, where she was elected vice chair for 2025 and advanced to chair in 2026.

She is an active member of IUP's College of Health Sciences Advancement Council. She was honored by IUP with a 2020 IUP Distinguished Alumni Award.

"I grew up in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and IUP will always feel like home," Vose said. "It's where so much of my journey began, and I'm incredibly proud to give back to the university and community that gave so much to me. Supporting Run for the Health of It was an easy yes. I love that it brings students together around health, fun, and community. Removing the cost means every student has the opportunity to participate, and that matters to me.

"Today's IUP students are tomorrow's leaders, and I'm always happy to invest in them-and in a place I'll forever be proud to call my alma mater. Go Hawks!"