Fogg recognized for leadership in healthcare education

July 20, 2026 — DENTON — An international nursing association has recognized College of Nursing Assistant Dean Niki Fogg, PhD, RN, for leadership in advancing simulation-based education and for mentoring the next generation of healthcare educators.
  
The 2026 Spirit of Simulation Leadership Excellence Award, given by the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL), honors individuals who demonstrate transformational leadership by advancing healthcare simulation while fostering growth and success of others in the profession.
 
"Honestly, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. What makes this award so meaningful is that it comes from nominations by peers and colleagues who I work with every day and admire," said Fogg, the assistant dean for simulation and education technology. "To be recognized by INACSL, an organization whose standards and mission have shaped so much of my career, is deeply humbling."
 
For Fogg, the award recognizes a philosophy of leadership centered on helping others succeed.
 
"The Spirit of Simulation Leadership Excellence Award recognizes transformational leadership. It's not just what you accomplish, but how you lift others up along the way," she said. "To me, it affirms that the work of mentoring, developing future simulation leaders and building psychologically safe environments where people can grow truly matters."
 
Fogg has helped shape simulation education across TWU by leading a multicampus simulation strategy, expanding interprofessional learning opportunities and helping develop the simulation and clinical skills integration labs in the university's new Health Sciences Center on the Denton campus. She has also served in national leadership roles with INACSL, contributing to the standards that guide simulation education around the world.
 
"Seeing those spaces come to life, purpose-built for immersive, interprofessional, standards-based learning, has been one of the highlights of my career," Fogg said.
 
Fogg has also focused on developing future educators and healthcare leaders through faculty development initiatives, workforce grants and mentorship. She said watching those she has mentored grow into leaders themselves has been one of the most rewarding parts of her career.
 
Simulation has become increasingly important in nursing education, providing students opportunities to practice clinical decision-making before caring for patients.
 
"Simulation gives students a safe space to practice, make mistakes and build clinical judgment before they ever touch a real patient," Fogg said. "It bridges the gap between the classroom and the bedside."
 
In simulation, Fogg said students can experience complex, high-stakes patient scenarios, strengthen their confidence and refine their clinical judgment in an environment designed for learning. As access to clinical placement sites becomes more limited, simulation provides an additional tool to help prepare nurses and other healthcare workers that communities depend on.
 
"Done well, simulation doesn't just teach skills. It shapes safer, more thoughtful clinicians," Fogg said. "When it's interprofessional, it prepares them to work as part of the collaborative healthcare teams patients depend on."
 
Fogg said the recognition reflects the collaborative work of colleagues across the university.
 
"This award belongs as much to my TWU colleagues, mentors and students as it does to me. With the new Health Sciences Center simulation and clinical skills integration labs now open on our Denton campus, I believe TWU's best chapter in simulation is just beginning," she said. "My hope is that this recognition shines a light on the incredible work happening across our College of Nursing and College of Health Sciences."

Page last updated 4:40 PM, July 20, 2026