National League for Nursing to Present Awards to Leaders in Nursing Education and Leading Health Policymakers at Annual Education Summit

Honorees to Include Senator Daniel K. Inouye and Dr. Donna Shalala

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/CALENDAR LISTING

New York, NY — August 29, 2011 — As the National League for Nursing gears up for its 2011 Education Summit, the League has announced the winners of its annual awards program. The NLN Awards and the NLN Presidents Awards will be presented during the four-day gathering in Orlando, Florida, September 21 - 24, of nurse educators, nursing school deans and administrators, and allied professionals.

Among this years honorees are two high-profile public figures with long records of helping to shape health care policy to benefit all Americans: Donna Shalala, PhD, president of the University of Miami who served for eight years as US secretary of Health and Human Services during the Clinton administration; and the Hon. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee who has served eight terms and is the second most senior member of the US Senate. Other awardees were chosen for their scholarship and leadership in nursing education from a crowded field of impressive nominations.

"The selection is difficult every year, as we are blessed with an abundance of creative, dedicated professionals in nursing education," stated NLN CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN. "But I can say with confidence that the 2011 award winners truly deserve this public recognition, surrounded by their peers, mentors and mentees. We salute their outstanding achievements and contributions to the advancement of excellence in nursing education."

Donna Shalala is to receive the NLN Presidents Award for National Leadership and Public Service. In 2009, Dr. Shalala was appointed to chair the Committee on the Future of Nursing, an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences. In that capacity, Dr. Shalala was one of the key leaders in shaping the much-heralded IOM report, The Future of Nursing, published in early 2011 and containing a blueprint for advancing standards of nursing preparation and practice to meet the demands of a diverse, dynamic 21st-century health care landscape.

NLN president Dr. Cathleen Shultz, who will present the award, lauded Dr. Shalalas selection as both award winner and Summit keynoter. "The NLN is proud to recognize Dr. Shalala's exemplary record of public service, in particular, her recent contributions to framing a sound health care policy for the future. She is a role model for all of us who aspire to make a difference in educating a strong, diverse nursing workforce, capable of providing sustainable, culturally competent, excellent patient care. We look forward to her words of wise counsel at the Opening Session."

In addition, Dr. Shultz will bestow the 2011 NLN Presidents Award on:

• Billye J. Brown, EdD, RN, FAAN, retired dean of the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, for an Enduring Legacy in Nursing Education, at the Plenary Session, 8:30-10:00 am, Thursday, September 22
• Amy Berman, RN, BS, senior program officer at the John A. Hartford Foundation for Reshaping Nursing Education, at the Faculty Meeting, 10:30 - 11:30 am, Friday, September 23

The Summits Saturday evening closing banquet includes the bestowal of coveted NLN awards to three outstanding individuals.

Of Sen. Daniel Inouyes selection as the winner of the NLN Award for Public Service, Dr. Malone noted, "Since he was elected in 1959, Senator Inouye has championed nursing as a solution to many of the nations health care challenges supporting programs that promote health and wellness, especially of underserved populations. The senator has been a constant advocate for quality care and thereby a friend to nursing throughout the years."

Other honorees include Cynthia Clark, PhD, RN, ANEF, a professor at Boise State University School of Nursing who will receive the NLN Award for Excellence in Nursing Education Research. And the NLN Award for Excellence in Teaching will be bestowed on Betsy Frank, PhD, RN, ANEF, professor emeritus at Indiana State University.

Click here to read additional biosketches of 2011 awardees.

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

Register online for the 2011 Education Summit here. And again this year, as a thank you for using online registration, the NLN will place names in a drawing for an outstanding selection of prizes.

Registration Questions: contact NLN Summit Registration at 800-321-6338 or email registration@prestigeacc.com.

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 34,000 individual and 1,200 institutional members who represent nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education.