Maren J. Coffman Doctoral Nursing Education Scholarship

Dr. Maren J. Coffman has dedicated her career to teaching, research, and service at the UNC Charlotte School of Nursing. For over 17 years, she has collaborated, educated, mentored, and championed students and colleagues at Charlotte. Dr. Coffman is a full-time Associate Professor and her research includes population health and health promotion in Latinx women. She teaches primarily graduate nursing students and has led multiple study abroad programs to Cuba and Mexico. Personally, Dr. Coffman is a wife and mother of four children ages 12 to 21. 

Dr. Coffman was diagnosed with Metastatic or Stage 4 Breast or Cancer (MBC) in September 2019 at age 49. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Early-stage breast cancer is treatable, while advanced breast cancer has spread throughout the body. In MBC, breast cancer cells have grown in organs including the bones, liver, lungs, brain, and other distant sites. MBC is a terminal illness with a 5-year survival rate of only 25%. 

Dr. Coffman and her family have considered her legacy, and have named a scholarship to honor her values and achievements. The Maren J. Coffman Doctoral Nursing Education Scholarship will honor her today and memorialize her in the future. With the creation of this scholarship, Dr. Coffman’s name will forever be connected to the first Nursing Education Scholarship in support of the newly formed PhD in Nursing Program with an inaugural start date of fall 2023. 

The Coffman family is reaching out to friends, students, faculty, staff, and the community in support of the Maren J. Coffman Doctoral Nursing Education Scholarship. Donations will support a merit-based scholarship allocated to nursing students interested in population health pursuing doctoral nursing education. The scholarship fund, which aims to ultimately be endowed, has a goal of $25,000 to forever honor and memorialize the work of Dr. Coffman and her contribution to UNC Charlotte's School of Nursing.

Please join us today and make a gift in honor of Dr. Coffman so that her contribution to the School of Nursing is forever memorialized.

Dr. Coffman has been a nurse since 1990. She earned her PhD in Nursing from the University of Connecticut, an MSN from Syracuse University, and a BSN from Weber State University. She has developed a program of research aimed at promoting health in vulnerable populations. Early in her career, she lived in Venezuela for 18 months learning the customs, language, and lifeways of the people. This transformative experience led her to dedicate her career to the health care needs of Latinx adults. More recently, Dr. Coffman has been advocating, conducting research, and promoting therapeutic support for people living with MBC. 

The Maren J. Coffman Doctoral Nursing Education Scholarship will honor the great work of Dr. Coffman and the impact she has had not only on students, faculty, and staff at UNC Charlotte, but also in the broader community.