In a manner of speaking, Yaffa Dahan helped Lara Carver finish her nursing dissertation, although the two UNLV alumnae never met. Lara Carver, one of the university's—and the state's—first two Ph.D. recipients received the Yaffa Dahan Dissertation Scholarship. The award, established posthumously by Dahan's family, provides doctoral candidates funds to complete the final steps of their in-depth research projects.

"The private support I received helped fund my education.  As a single mom, it was helpful to know that I didn't have to worry about tuition or books or the extra fees associated with graduate school," says Carver.

Lori Candella, a faculty member in the School of Nursing and Carver's dissertation advisor, knows the value of private support for the students in the doctoral program.

"I believe that the scholarship support available to students as they are pursuing their dissertations is absolutely instrumental," says Candella. "The students are consumed with their dissertation and quite often they need financial assistance related to their research – for software or supplies.  Without the scholarships, the students would be scrambling to find the money they need."

Carver's dissertation explored generational differences in nursing faculty and the impact on the current shortage of nursing professors. She found that the variations in needs and working styles of each generation have been ignored, but that adjustments can improve a faculty member's job satisfaction and productivity—resulting in greater faculty retention and more experienced nurses leading advanced classes.

"We had a lot of discussions about the generations working in the field," says Candella. "Lara's broad area of interest was generations in the workplace and what impact, if any, does generation have in terms of how committed the individuals are to the organization."

Carver says the doctoral program helped her to develop her research skills and says that she was able to publish several articles about her research while she was in the program.

"The doctoral program at UNLV helped me to be a nurse researcher and educator," says Carver. "I wanted to become an educator of nurses. There's a nursing shortage and a greater nursing faculty shortage, and I wanted to make a difference.  I feel through education I could touch more lives."

Carver attended UNLV as an undergraduate nursing student and got to know many of the UNLV faculty through her education. She says the faculty encouraged her to begin the program and provided great support as she continued her education.

"They encouraged me in many ways and pointed out that it's better to get your doctorate earlier so you can do more with it instead of waiting until later in your career," says Carver.

Carver is already doing great things with her doctoral degree. She's continuing her research, and teaching the next generation of Nevada's nurses.

"I've opened the new nursing program at National University in Henderson, and we're producing more nurses to help make an impact on the nursing shortage in our community," says Carver.

The doctoral program in nursing continues to admit new students to the program, and Carver hopes to be an example and provide support for those students. Her commitment to the university is apparent as she plans to pursue her research and collaborate with the UNLV nursing faculty.

"As a graduate of UNLV, I believe it's my responsibility to continue to be a resource for the students in the graduate program," says Carver. "I want to contribute to the community of the university by continuing the research projects I've started with some of the faculty members, support their research, and collaborate with them on continuing projects."