National League for Nursing Announces Election Results during Annual Business Meeting on Final Day of 2010 Education Summit

New Secretary and Four Governors-at-Large Sworn In Oct. 2

New York, NY — October 26, 2010 — The National League for Nursing opened its Annual Business Meeting on the final day of its 2010 Education Summit with the announcement of a new secretary and the election of four governors-at-large. All will serve for the next three years, from 2010-2013.

Joan Frey, EdD, RN, NEA-BC, dean of the Louisville (KY) campus of the Galen School of Nursing, has stepped into the position of secretary on the NLN Board of Governors, following the conclusion of a three-year term (2007-2010) — her second — as a governor-at-large. Dr. Freys history of service on the BOG as well as her past involvement on NLN committees and councils, have well prepared her to assume this new leadership role.

Before she arrived at Galen in 2008, Dr. Frey built an impressive record in nursing education. She began as an adjunct faculty member at the Aultman Hospital School of Nursing in Canton, Ohio in 1987, rising to become director of the Aultman Health Foundation in 1991, with overall responsibility for the direction of the school. From 2003 to 2006, she oversaw the schools transition to a degree-granting college, becoming director of the Division of Nursing at Aultman College of Nursing and Health Sciences in 2004. In 2007, she was named director of campus, community, and public affairs, an executive position responsible for Aultmans external organizational education outreach, community relationships, granting writing, public relations, and the promotion and coordination of the Aultman Education Center. In that role, she also provided support for long-range planning and daily operations of the college.

A music major at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where she earned a bachelors of science degree in 1970, Dr. Frey returned to school to earn her ADN from Triton College in River Grove, Illinois in 1980; an MSN with a focus in nursing administration from University of Akron in Akron, Ohio in 1990; and a doctorate in educational leadership from Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio in 2005.

Among the four newly elected governors-at-large are two BOG veterans and two newcomers.

Gail Baumlein, PhD, RN, ANEF, CNS, CNE, director of online programs at Chamberlain College of Nursing in Columbus, OH; and Teresa Shellenbarger, PhD, RN, CNE, ANEF, professor and doctoral program coordinator at Indiana University of Pennsylvania Department of Nursing and Allied Health Professions in Indiana, PA join the board of governors for the first time, although each has had extensive previous leadership experience within the NLN. Dr. Baumlein has also been active on the board of the Ohio League for Nursing.

The board welcomes back Anne Bavier, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean and professor at the University of Connecticut School of Nursing in Storrs Mansfield, CT; and Elizabeth Speakman, EdD, RN, CDE, ANEF, associate dean of student affairs and an associate professor at Thomas Jefferson University Jefferson School of Nursing in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Bavier is the immediate past secretary and Dr. Speakman is serving her second consecutive term as governor-at-large.

"I extend congratulations to my esteemed colleagues on their election — or re-election as the case may be — and a warm welcome to those new to the NLN Board of Governors," said NLN president Cathleen Shultz, PhD, RN, CNE, FAAN. "The NLN is fortunate indeed to have the depth of talent so willing to serve. As we begin the second decade of the 21st century, I am proud of the contributions of NLN leadership to advancing the standards of excellence in nursing education, which ultimately help make possible the advances in patient care so critical to meeting the needs of Americas dynamic health care environment."

Added NLN CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, "You have all demonstrated through your previous NLN service and through your impressive professional accomplishments that you care deeply about the future of nursing education. I look forward to working with each of you in the coming three years to realize our shared vision of excellence."

Reporters/Editors:For interview opportunities, please contact Karen R. Klestzick, chief communications officer, at 212-812-0376 or kklestzick@nln.org.

Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. The NLN offers faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 33,000 individual and 1,200 institutional members who represent all types of nursing education programs.