“This endowed chair represents the highest level of commitment to advancing nursing science and education.” - Dean Lori Popejoy
Dec. 4, 2025
The University of Missouri Sinclair School of Nursing has named Amy Vogelsmeier, PhD, RN, FAAN, as the inaugural Verna Rhodes Endowed Chair in Nursing, honoring a legacy of excellence in nursing education and research.
Vogelsmeier, a professor at the Sinclair School of Nursing, is a nationally recognized leader in nursing home care delivery systems and patient safety. She has spent more than 30 years improving outcomes for older adults through research, policy development and practice innovation.
“This endowed chair represents the highest level of commitment to advancing nursing science and education,” said Dean Lori Popejoy. “Amy’s visionary leadership and passion for improving care systems for older adults, mentoring students and junior faculty, providing leadership to the school make her the perfect choice to carry forward Verna Rhodes’ legacy.”
Vogelsmeier contributed in securing more than $40 million in external funding and published over 70 scholarly works. She is currently a multiple principal investigator, along with Popejoy, on an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) R01 grant focused on improving nursing homes’ management of respiratory infection outbreaks.
One of Vogelsmeier’s most significant contributions to national nursing home reform has been advancing the role of advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) in Missouri and across the country. She served as co-investigator and practice co-lead on the Missouri Quality Initiative (MOQI), an eight-year Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services demonstration project that reduced avoidable hospitalizations for long-stay nursing home residents by employing full-time APRNs in 16 Missouri nursing homes. The success of MOQI has influenced care delivery for millions of U.S. nursing home residents and has been adopted as a model by managed care organizations.
Curators’ Professer Emerita Marilyn Rantz, a longtime colleague of Vogelsmeier, emphasized the impact of her work. “Amy’s contributions have transformed nursing home care and will continue to influence how we support aging populations for decades to come,” Rantz said. “Her leadership ensures that Verna Rhodes’ vision of advancing nursing through research and education lives on.”
Vogelsmeier’s Vision
Vogelsmeier described the appointment as an incredible honor and reflected on the influence Rhodes had on her and others at the school. “Dr. Rhodes was a remarkable woman. Every time I met her, she was more interested in what you were doing than in talking about her own accomplishments. Her genuine investment in the success of faculty and students was inspiring, and that’s something I hope to emulate.”
This influence has helped shape Vogelsmeier’s vision, “As I step into this role, my goal is to create more research opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students,” Vogelsmeier said. “I want them to experience the impact of nursing science firsthand, whether through projects I lead or by supporting the work of other faculty.”
Allison Anbari, assistant professor at the Sinclair School of Nursing and former PhD student under Vogelsmeier’s mentorship believes Rhodes would be pleased with this appointment. “I met Verna Rhodes early in my time as a new faculty member and she was always genuinely interested in my work,” she said. “Dr. Vogelsmeier shares that same quality. She cares and wants me to succeed. Her mentorship continues to shape my approach to nursing science and I’m thankful to be her colleague.”
Vogelsmeier also plans to continue work and implementation efforts in nursing homes and patient care, better preparing nursing homes for future emergencies and integrating them into their communities for stronger mutual support.
Honoring Verna Rhodes’ Legacy
Verna Adwell Rhodes was a trailblazer in oncology nursing and a beloved professor whose career spanned decades at the Sinclair School of Nursing. Known as the “mother of oncology nursing symptom management and assessment,” she developed three oncology assessment tools that are used in 23 countries worldwide. She was a well-known and respected scholar, but she is best known in the Sinclair School of Nursing as someone who was unfailingly encouraging and supportive to faculty and students. Rhodes and her husband, V. James Rhodes, established multiple endowments to support nursing education and research.