Leading Nurse Educator from Arkansas Assumes Presidency of the National League for Nursing

New President-Elect and Governors Also Sworn in at Annual Business Meeting During September Four-Day NLN Education Summit in Philadelphia, PA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Philadelphia — October 9, 2009 — The National League for Nursing has a new president, following her swearing in at the NLNs Annual Business Meeting, held in Philadelphia, PA on Saturday, September 26. Cathleen Shultz, PhD, RN, CNE, FAAN, took the podium to deliver her inaugural address which was warmly received by the membership.

The NLN membership also welcomed a new president-elect, Judith Halstead, DNS, RN, ANEF, executive associate dean for academic affairs and a professor in the School of Nursing at Indiana University in Indianapolis. She will serve for the next two years before stepping into the presidency in 2011. Three new governors also joined the board for the first time, elected for three-year terms, ending in 2012. They are: Rumay Alexander, EdD, RN, clinical professor and director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs in the School of Nursing at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Carol Boswell, EdD, RN, CNE, ANEF, professor and co-director of the School of Nursing at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Andrews; and Pamela Di Vito-Thomas, PhD, RN, CNE, director of nursing in the nursing program of Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, KS.

The first, and to date only, dean of the College of Nursing at Harding University in Searcy, AR since 1980, Dr. Shultz has an expansive background in all nursing education areas with a focus on nurse educator development, the rebirth of the nurse educator as an advanced practice role, and the transformation of nursing education.

An NLN member since 1976, in 2005, Dr. Shultz was elected to the Leagues Board of Governors, serving as treasurer. Her service on National League for Nursing advisory councils has helped build the science of nursing education. She has worked on numerous NLN committees including the Task Group on Teaching-Learning Paradigms. Edited by Dr. Shultz, Building a Science of Nursing Education: Foundation for Evidence-Based Teaching-Learning, recently published by NLN Press, arose from the work of that committee.

Dr. Shultz began teaching at Harding University in 1976. A two-time recipient of the universitys Distinguished Teacher Award, Dr. Shultz has been a leader in nursing education on the state and national stages. She is the only nurse to have served as president of both the Arkansas State Board of Nursing and the Arkansas Nurses Association and was twice appointed to the State Board, most recently to a four-year term by Gov. Mike Beebe. An earlier appointment, from 1989-92, was made by then-Gov. Bill Clinton. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and has been active in Sigma Theta Tau International since 1976, elected to the position of secretary in 1995. Dr. Shultz earned her bachelors degree in nursing at the University of South Carolina in 1974. She later went on to receive masters and doctoral degrees in nursing from Emory University and Vanderbilt University, respectively. A prolific writer, Dr. Shultzs vitae lists more than many publications, including an article in a national nursing journal with a young Arkansas lawyer, Hillary Clinton.

"We are certainly pleased Dr. Cathie Shultz has been selected by her peers to lead the National League for Nursing. Dean Shultz has been an integral part of Hardings nursing program for more than three decades. Equally important, she has been a leader in nursing education in Arkansas and the nation during that same time span. I am confident she will continue to provide excellent leadership for the NLN during her tenure as president," stated Dr. David B. Burks, Hardings president.

"I feel privileged by my selection to lead this organization, which, as the voice for nursing education, represents the hopes and dreams of so many nurse educators for the future of the nursing profession," said Dr. Shultz. "I am humbled by the dedication of my colleagues and by the NLNs mission, which I pledge to advance: to promote excellence in nursing education to build a strong and diverse nursing workforce."

"We are delighted to have Cathie as our new president. I look forward to continuing to receive the wise counsel I have come to expect from Cathie during her years as president elect. In addition, I extend my deepest congratulations to our newly-elected officials and look forward to working together with them in the coming years," said NLN CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, in announcing the results. "Collectively, they represent well over 100 years of experience as clinicians, nurse educators, scholars, and thought leaders, with demonstrated high-level involvement in the NLN; state and regional NLN Constituent Leagues; and other leading organizations in nursing education and health care."

Editors and reporters: For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact Karen R. Klestzick, chief communications officer, at 212-812-0376 or kklestzick@nln.org.

Below are abbreviated CVs of the newly elected members of the NLN Board of Governors:

Judith Halstead, DNS, RN, ANEF, President-Elect
PAST POSITIONS: Associate professor, director of instructional services and resources, professor, director of undergraduate programs, University of Southern Indiana School of Nursing and Health Professions
NLN ACTIVITIES:Centers of Excellence Review Panel, chair; Nursing Education Research Advisory Council, chair; Task Group on Nurse Educator Competencies, member; Nursing Education Scholarship Review Panel, member; Nursing Education Research Blue Ribbon Panel, NLN
OTHER ACTIVITIES: Member, Board of Directors, Susan G. Komen, Evansville Affiliate; member, Board of Directors, Indiana Nurses Foundation; member, MERLOT Health Science Editorial Board, Multimedia Educational Resources for Online Learning; chair, Nursing Education Research Section, Midwest Nursing Research Society; member, International Eligibility Committee, Sigma Theta Tau International

Rumay Alexander, EdD, RN
PAST POSITIONS: Senior vice-president clinical and professional services, Tennessee Hospital Association
NLN ACTIVITIES: Think Tank on Assessment and Evaluation, facilitator; Think Tank on Diversity, panel member; Plenary Session, Summit 2008; workshop presenter, Summit 2007
OTHER ACTIVITIES: National Student Nurses Association Foundation, trustee; American Organization of Nurse Executives, board member; Professional Examination Service, board member; International Academic Nursing Alliance, Sigma Theta Tau, member; Advisory Panel: Nursing Sensitive Standards, National Quality Forum, member; Workforce Commission, American Hospital Association, member

Carol Boswell, EdD, RN, CNE
PAST POSITIONS: Professor/chairperson, Odessa College
NLN ACTIVITIES: Nursing Educator Workforce Development Advisory Council, chair; Task Group on Programs that Facilitate Faculty Development, member; Education Summit Program Planning Committee; item writer, NLN; member, Board of Review, NLNAC
OTHER ACTIVITIES: Periman Regional Medical Center. president; Adult Protective Board, member; chair, member, Doctoral Studies Committee, chair, vice-chair, Faculty Affairs Committee, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center; CNE site reviewer, Pathways to Excellence Reviewer, American Nurses Credentialing Center; Collateral reviewer, Sigma Theta Tau; external consultant, Medical Center Hospital

Pamela Di Vito-Thomas, PhD, RN, CNE
PAST POSITIONS: Associate professor of nursing, coordinator of nursing, Langston University-Tulsa
NLN ACTIVITIES: Site visitor, NLNAC
OTHER ACTIVITIES: Chair, Continuing Professional Nursing Education; director, Region 2, Oklahoma Nurses Association; executive board member, Local Chapter, American Association of University Professors; president, Sigma Theta Tau: Mu Lota Chapter; faculty counselor, Sigma Theta Tau: Upsilon Pi and Mu Lota Chapters

Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education offering faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 30,000 individual and 1,200 institutional members.