University of Jamestown Steps into New Partnership with World Shoe

JAMESTOWN, N.D. — The University of Jamestown officially launched a new partnership with World Shoe on Sept. 16, becoming the purpose-driven footwear company’s first university partner. World Shoe founders Drs. Manny and Tracie Ohonme joined UJ undergraduate nursing students in Voorhees Chapel to mark the partnership and distribute The Rowe, footwear designed specifically for healthcare professionals.

The partnership brings to future nurses a mindset often applied to collegiate athletics: equipping students with high-quality gear designed for the work they are preparing to do. At UJ, that means putting footwear built for healthcare professionals on the feet of nursing students who spend long hours in classrooms, labs and clinical settings.

But what makes the partnership especially fitting for UJ is the mission behind the shoes.

World Shoe combines footwear innovation with a commitment to improving lives. Its shoes are manufactured in Ghana, creating jobs and economic opportunity, while purchases also support Samaritan’s Feet, the humanitarian nonprofit founded by the Ohonmes that provides shoes, promotes foot health and inspires hope in communities around the world.

That combination—excellence, innovation and service—closely reflects UJ’s own commitment to developing leaders who use their education and talents to serve others.

“We talk often about preparing our students not only to be excellent at what they do, but to understand how they can use their education and their careers to serve others,” said Brett Moser, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at UJ. “That’s what makes this partnership so exciting. We’re putting an exceptional product on the feet of students preparing to care for others, and that product carries a mission that reaches far beyond our campus. It’s a partnership that reflects who we are and the kind of leaders we hope our students become.”

The relationship began when Manny and Tracie came to UJ in 2025 as speakers at Leadertown, the University’s annual leadership conference that brings nationally recognized speakers and regional leaders together around purposeful leadership. Their message and the missions of World Shoe and Samaritan’s Feet resonated with University leaders, and conversations continued about how UJ could become part of their work.

On Sept. 16, 2026, that idea became tangible.

Undergraduate nursing students gathered in the pews of UJ’s historic Voorhees Chapel as Manny and Tracie returned to campus, this time with hundreds of pairs of shoes waiting to be placed on the feet of future nurses.

Manny brought with him the same enthusiasm that first connected him with the UJ community.

“What you guys are doing, you guys are being part of being first,” he told students. “When you say yes to our shoes, you’re helping us to be able to impact the lives of many people.”

For Manny, the mission behind World Shoe began with his own first pair of shoes.

Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, he received his first pair of shoes at age nine from a missionary. The gift helped change the trajectory of his life, eventually leading him to the United States on a basketball scholarship.

Years later, Manny and Tracie founded Samaritan’s Feet. World Shoe grew from that mission, creating a sustainable model that pairs footwear with economic opportunity and humanitarian impact.

The connection is embedded even in the shoes UJ students received—a model called The Rowe, which takes its name from Rowe Park in Lagos, where Ohonme received that first pair of shoes.

“That’s where my life was changed,” Manny said. “With that inspiration, there will be many, many, many more people in the world that wear this shoe and are able to help tell the story of Rowe Park—that greatness can come from a place where nobody ever thought great things can come from.”

The Rowe was developed specifically for healthcare professionals, with design input focused on the demands of working in healthcare environments.

Dr. Kim Ash, chair of UJ’s Nursing Department, encouraged students to wear their new shoes during clinical experiences and to share the story behind them when someone asks.

“These are more than just a shoe,” Ash said. “These shoes are purpose driven.”

That purpose extends around the world. World Shoe’s manufacturing operations in Ghana have created approximately 1,000 direct and indirect jobs, while Samaritan’s Feet has distributed footwear to communities in need around the globe and in the United States.

Manny challenged UJ’s future nurses to think about their own role in that larger mission, not only as healthcare professionals, but as leaders capable of using their skills to change lives.

“I hope you guys can travel with us, go to Kenya, go to Ghana, go to Malawi, go to South Africa … and use some of your skills to help keep and extend life to deserving people,” he said. “As you guys transition from UJ one day, [I hope] that you guys become innovators to come up with solutions that would change and transform the world.”

The launch of the partnership was made possible through the generosity of two people whose own lives are deeply connected to UJ and healthcare: Dick and Dr. Geneal “Pixie” Hall.

Dick, a 1957 UJ graduate and University trustee, was the first baby born at the former Jamestown Hospital and later became its president and CEO. Pixie, a 1959 graduate, spent many years teaching nursing at UJ and later served as chair of the department.

Together, the Halls purchased 500 pairs of World Shoes to be gifted to UJ students, making it possible for the University’s first group of nursing students to step into the partnership.

“Dick and Pixie have spent their lives investing in this University and in the health and well-being of others,” Moser said. “There is something incredibly fitting about a gift from them helping launch a partnership centered on future healthcare professionals, service and improving lives. Their generosity isn’t only benefiting our students; through World Shoe and Samaritan’s Feet, its impact reaches people and communities far beyond UJ.”

Ash echoed that message as she spoke to students gathered in the chapel.

“My hope today is that you know that you’ll be walking with real purpose,” she said. “You’re bringing hope, and you’re creating a global impact when you wear these shoes.”

Students then came forward one by one to receive their shoes, try them on, and take photos with Manny and Tracie.

Tracie spoke directly to the future nurses about the demanding path they have chosen. Having watched their own daughter complete nursing school and go on to become a neuro ICU nurse, she said she understands the coursework, clinical experiences and long hours that come with preparing for a healthcare career. She encouraged the students to make the most of their time at UJ and to think about how they will use what they are learning to serve others.

“Each one of you was designed for a purpose,” she said. “And now it’s your responsibility to figure out why and what you’re going to do with your education and what you’re going to do with your life. Start with what happens here at the University of Jamestown. Be a blessing to those around you.”

For a partnership built around equipping people to serve others, it was a fitting first step.