Sue Simon, Mayo Clinic Nurse Awarded President’s Community Partner Award

Sue Simon, Nurse Manager at Mayo Clinic’s Generose 1 West, has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 President’s Community Partner Award. University of Minnesota Rochester’s Chancellor Lori J. Carrell is delighted to recognize Simon's commitment to civic responsibility and leadership in partnership with Minnesota Campus Compact.

Sue Simon’s interest in health care started when she was just four years old. Her maternal grandmother had hip problems and Simon helped care for her. This seemingly tiny act has led to a life serving as a nurse.

Simon, a native of Rochester, started her career at Mayo Clinic in 1987. This April, she will celebrate 32 years of employment at the Clinic. Her career has been spent in behavioral health, first as a floor nurse and gradually working her way to being a nurse manager. She started managing the inpatient child and adolescent psychiatric unit in 1998. An aspect of her job that she loves is the constant patient contact.

Simon has led critical efforts to ensure students in UMR’s HUM 3721: The Contemplation of Resilience, Well-being and Mental Health through Creativity course could participate in educational opportunities at the Acute Psychiatric Unit for Children and Adolescent at Mayo Clinic.

“Sue has gone above and beyond supporting UMR students by creating rare educational opportunities at the unit,” says her nominator, Yuko Taniguchi, faculty at UMR’s Center for Learning Innovation and one of the course leaders for HUM 3721. “The students directly interact with the patients, which has positively influenced both parties. Sue’s work with UMR students and faculty has improved the service to adolescents with mental health challenges.”

Simon will receive her award at the Minnesota Campus Compact Presidents’ Awards Luncheon in St. Paul on Wednesday, April 10. She will be recognized along with faculty, staff, students and community partners selected by presidents of colleges and universities from around the state.