Nursing Education Leader Honored for Legacy of Service & National Leadership in Nursing

Nursing Education Leader Honored for Legacy of Service & National Leadership in Nursing

NLN President & CEO Dr. Beverly Malone to Be Inducted into American Nurses Association Hall of Fame

Washington, DC — The American Nurses Association, which represents the nation’s more than 5 million registered nurses, has honored National League for Nursing President and CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, with its highest accolade: the Hall of Fame Award. This coveted professional recognition, created to honor an individual RN deemed as a nurse exemplar, recognizes outstanding commitment to the field of nursing and impact on the health and social history of the nation.

A two-term past president of the ANA, Dr. Malone has remained an active, engaged member of the association. She recently served as a contributor to the National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing. The latest NLN-ANA collaboration was the introduction of an OnDemand Course on Ethics in Nursing Education: Tools for Cultivating Ethical Competence in Learners.

In a letter to Dr. Malone, ANA President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, highlighted Dr. Malone’s “extraordinary contributions to the nursing profession over a sustained period of time through distinguished service, steadfast leadership, exceptional mentorship, effective advocacy, and innovative efforts—contributions that have had an enduring impact on the health and/or social/political history of the United States.”

In nominating her for the Hall of Fame Award, NLN Chief Program Officer and Director of the NLN Center for Transformational Leadership Janice Brewington, PhD, RN, FAAN, wrote of Dr. Malone, “She has been a pioneering leader in nursing and health care and an inspiration to African American women and nurses everywhere. It is not an exaggeration to say that every American, along with millions of people around the world, owe her considerable thanks for her contributions to the health care services they access every day.”

“On behalf of the National League for Nursing, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Malone for this well-deserved honor,” said NLN Chair Patricia Sharpnack, DNP, RN, CNE, NEA-BC, ANEF, FAAN, dean and Strawbridge Professor at the Breen School of Nursing and Health Professions at Ursuline College in Ohio. “She is truly deserving of this top award as a transformational leader extraordinaire.”

Since earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Cincinnati and as a licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Malone’s extensive resume has encompassed advanced nursing practice; higher education senior administration; labor union leadership in the UK; and federal public service during the Clinton Administration. Complementing her professional advancement has been a wealth of volunteer leadership posts in organizations devoted to improving health care, nursing education, and public health. These have been further amplified by her service and contributions to numerous commissions and task forces associated with such venerated institutions as the National Academy of Medicine (NAM; formerly the Institute of Medicine—IOM).

She has served for 10 years on the board of the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), renowned for health research and policy papers supporting the welfare of communities here and abroad. Dr. Malone is currently serving as vice chair of the board of directors at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI); co-leads the NAM’s Grand Climate Challenge Health Professional Education and Communication Working Group; and serves on NAM’s Steering Committee. She is also a member of ecoAmerica’s Leadership Circle Executive Committee. Modern Healthcare magazine has named Dr. Malone among its 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare year after year.

As an African American who rose to positions of prominence, Dr. Malone has been a visible and vocal role model and mentor to many in communities of color. She has made it a mission to advocate forcefully for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in the nursing workforce; in the ranks of nurse faculty and nursing students across the spectrum of higher education; and in broadening access to quality health care to underserved and marginalized populations nationally and worldwide.

With a deep understanding of the intersection of health within the complex dynamics of contemporary life, whether she’s on the lecture circuit, conferring with colleagues, or inspiring the League to spearhead groundbreaking initiatives, Dr. Malone hasn’t hesitated to address such disparate challenges to global health as climate change; the social determinants of health; health professionals’ well-being; technology’s role in nursing education and practice; structural racism, economic inequality and social injustice; sexual and gender discrimination; PTSD and suicide prevention among America’s armed service men and women; and intolerance, harassment, and bullying in academia and the workplace.

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