NLN Leadership Institute Support Expands

Major New Funding from the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future Enhances Two Existing NLN Faculty Development Programs and Creates a Third

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY — January 24, 2013 — The National League for Nursing today announced increased funding support of several of its innovative initiatives for faculty development. The gift, made through the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursings Future, will facilitate an expansion in the coming year of two of the NLN's signature leadership programs and make possible the creation of a third program within the NLN Leadership Institute. The gift will be awarded through the NLN Foundation for Nursing Education, as have the previous bequests.

The two existing Leadership Institute programs to be expanded are: Lead, aimed at faculty aspiring to leadership roles or nurse educators who have been rapidly transitioned to a position of leadership within their academic institutions; and Leadership Development Program for Simulation Educators, designed for experienced simulation nurse educators eager to become leaders in this specialized field. Each accommodates an annual cohort of 20 nurse educators, selected through competitive application.

The new program to be established under the banner of the Leadership Institute is the Senior Dean Leadership Program, a pilot for 10 nursing school deans who have served in that role for at least five years and envision themselves instrumental in re-energizing and reframing their organizational systems for emerging pedagogical and health care outcomes.

With the renewed commitment for support of the Leadership Institute, the NLN can ensure that participants will have access to the full complement of leadership development resources provided by experienced professionals, a world-class faculty, and dynamic curricula. The programs include executive coaching sessions, expanded networking opportunities, personalized career development counseling, and workshops and seminars on micro and macro leadership theory.

"We applaud Johnson & Johnson for its dedication to improving health outcomes by empowering nursing education leaders who will affect the culture of their schools organizational system and model excellence in leadership and collegiality," noted NLN president Judith A. Halstead, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF. Added NLN CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, "Nurturing leadership will ultimately achieve the long-term goals of enlarging and sustaining an outstanding and inclusive nursing workforce to advance the nations health, in accordance with the NLN's mission and core values."

Two of the key outcomes outlined for the 2013-14 Leadership Institute are 1) that at least 25 percent of program participants be drawn from under-represented minorities to increase diversity among nurse educator-leaders nationally; and 2) that 90 percent of program participants commit to remaining in academic leadership positions following completion of the program. Additionally, 80 percent must pledge to expand the capacity of their schools nursing program, either through increasing enrollment of qualified applicants or by improving the retention of admitted students.

"We value the longstanding relationship we have with the NLN and are pleased to expand our support of critical nurse educator training programs and initiatives," said Andrea Higham, director of the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future. "One of the pillars of our campaign is nurse retention, and high-caliber, leadership-focused program experiences such as these help propel existing nurses and nurse educators to the next level of their careers. This shared commitment to excellence in nursing education helps us move closer to a day when we will have enough nurse leaders to meet the health care needs of our patients and communities."

The Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing's Future first seeded the NLN Faculty Leadership and Mentoring Program in 2007 with funding provided to the NLN Foundation for Nursing Education. From 2007 through 2011, each year, five carefully selected protégé-mentor pairs received full support to explore professional leadership development and work collaboratively on a leadership-oriented project presented at the NLN annual Education Summit. It was hailed as a model program, matching mid-career nurse educators to veteran faculty leaders chosen from among the fellows in the NLNs prestigious Academy of Nursing Education.

For more information about the Leadership Institute, visit the NLN website here.

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 37,000 individual and more than 1,200 institutional members, comprising nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education and health care organizations.