Six Schools of Nursing Named National League for Nursing Centers of Excellence in Nursing Education (COE) for 2014-18

Formal Recognition Set for Friday, September 19 at 2014 Education Summit in Phoenix, AZ

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, DC, July 23, 2014 — Six schools of nursing have been named NLN Centers of Excellence (COE) for 2014 to 2018, bringing the total to 35, the National League for Nursing Board of Governors has announced. The selection is by competitive application reviewed by a panel of leaders in nursing education. In this cycle, all six are first-time COE designees.

As in previous years, the new COEs will be formally recognized at the NLN's Annual Education Summit during the NLN Banquet. Deans and other top administrators, faculty, and health care executives will be gathered for the conference in Phoenix, Arizona from September 17-20; the ceremony, on Friday evening, September 19, follows the President's Reception and also includes the induction of the new class of fellows into the NLN Academy of Nursing Education.

"These deserving nursing education programs model excellence in the science of nursing education and providing environments that enhance student learning and professional development," asserted NLN president Marsha Howell Adams, PhD, RN, CNE, ANEF, newly appointed dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. "Their visionary leadership sets the standard for nursing education to build a strong and diverse nursing workforce to advance the health of the nation and the global community, guided by the League's four core values: caring, integrity, diversity, and excellence."

Throughout the four or more years that institutions carry the COE designation, faculty and administration serve as advisers and sounding boards to others that seek COE status. "The NLN considers these institutions to be standard bearers of excellence – role models whose faculty, deans, and researchers are available to share expertise, insight, knowledge, and experience to lift the entire nursing community to a higher level of achievement," noted Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, CEO of the NLN. "I look forward to publicly congratulating them for their impressive achievements at the Summit in September."

Also, each year, students enrolled in COE schools have an opportunity to share their thoughts on the meaning of excellence in nursing education, what fosters excellence, and what it means to them to be part of a COE-designated nursing program. As in years past, the winner of the Student Excellence Paper Competition will be acknowledged at the COE presentation. She is Danielle Rourke from Duke University, whose paper is entitled: "Contributing a Verse to Excellence."

Since 2004, the NLN has issued an annual invitation to apply for COE status. Applicants are then judged on their ability to demonstrate in concrete, measurable terms sustained excellence in faculty development, nursing education research, or student learning and professional development. Schools, and since 2012, health care organizations eligible in a separate category, must also have a proven commitment to continuous quality improvement. Of the current 35 NLN Centers of Excellence, 31 are schools of nursing from across the spectrum of higher education, from diploma and associate degree-granting programs to colleges and universities offering bachelor's and advanced degrees. Four are health care organizations.

Please see below for the complete list, by category, of 2014-18 COEs. 
More information about the COE program.

Editors/Reporters: For interview opportunities, please contact Karen R. Klestzick, chief communications officer at the NLN, at 202-909-2483 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 professional development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 40,000 individual and 1,200 institutional members. NLN members represent nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education, and health care organizations and agencies. 

Creating Environments that Enhance Student Learning and Professional Development
    Clemson University (Clemson, SC)
    Ohio State University (Columbus, OH)
    Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing (New York, NY)
    Purdue University Calumet (Hammond, IN)
    Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (Lubbock, TX)

Creating Environments that Advance the Science of Nursing Education
    Adelphi University (Garden City, NY)