August 22, 2018 | NLN CEO Update on Celebrating 125 Years of Building Our Past and Preserving Our Future

Are you ready for Chicago? Are you ready for the Summit? I certainly hope so, because I don't want you to miss out on the incredible array of opportunities to learn from and network with thought leaders, nurse educators and internationally renowned scholars we have lined up for the 2018 NLN Education Summit. As usual, our agenda is packed with presentations, workshops, poster exhibitions, concurrent sessions, time for informal networking, meetings, and exhibits from around the world.

Colleagues, we have something very special for this particular Summit. The highlight in store at the Summit, let the drums roll, is the festive celebration we have planned for the 125^th anniversary of our founding as the oldest continuous professional association of nursing. Many of you responded to our request for vintage photographs, and we hope you will enjoy spotting them in the eye-catching displays our talented design team has created.

We have chosen to mark this milestone in the place of the League's birth, as it has significant meaning for all of us. That's because we strive everyday to promote excellence in nursing education through our core values — integrity, caring, diversity/inclusion, and excellence — to prepare a diverse and culturally sensitive nursing workforce to deliver outstanding universal patient care to advance the health of our nation and the global community. Our NLN mission is surely a reflection of our history and legacy in nursing and nursing education.

And speaking of history and legacy, as you may be aware, we have a tradition of honoring three giants in nursing education on whose shoulders we stand today by selecting deserving contemporary nurse educators and scholars to receive the competitive, prestigious NLN Awards made in their names. Mary Adelaide Nutting was considered the world's first professor of nursing; Isabel Hampton Robb was head of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and author of the earliest nursing textbooks; and Lillian Wald was a nurse, social worker, and first president of the National Organization for Public Health Nursing. You'll want to be at the Summit Honors Convocation on Friday, September 14 when we celebrate this year's NLN Awards winners, NLN Centers of Excellence institutions, and the induction of the 2018 Class of Fellows into the NLN Academy of Nursing Education. What a great celebration that will be.

The Summit is the ideal time to honor the remarkable career achievements of so many educators and scholars, heroes and role models whose groundbreaking research and innovative teaching practices are advancing the science of nursing education and transforming health care delivery nationally and worldwide. In fact, we have award presentations scheduled throughout the convention. At the Opening Ceremony on Wednesday, September 12, following the Keynote Address by US Deputy Surgeon General Sylvia Trent-Adams, NLN President G. Rumay Alexander will present RADM Trent-Adams and Barbara Nichols, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Center for Nursing, with the first two of three President's Awards. Rumay will present the third President's Award the next day, after my CEO Address, to Dr. Susan Groenwald, president emeritus of Chamberlain University. During that same awards ceremony, we will also formally recognize the contributions of our Constituent Leagues with leadership awards to the New York League for Nursing and Dr. Alyce S. Ashcraft, immediate past president of the Texas League for Nursing and posthumously, Julie McAfooes, a pioneering leader who has worked with the Ohio League for Nursing.

But, recognition isn't only about the past, after all. Rising stars in nursing education pursuing advanced degrees and specialized, discipline-focused study will have their moment in the spotlight, too. We will award thousands of dollars in research grants and scholarships, many of them co-sponsored by the NLN's corporate and non-profit partners, who channel their support through the NLN Foundation for Nursing Education.

Another major Summit highlight is bound to be the much-anticipated results of our 2017 Faculty Survey. We'll review these and open dialogue at the National Faculty Meeting on Friday morning, September 14. Policy planners, lawmakers, governmental agencies, regulators, and others use NLN workforce data as they design legislation, craft budgets, and formulate long-range educational goals. The 2017 data comes from fifty-five percent of nearly twelve hundred NLN-member schools invited to complete the survey. I express gratitude to the dedicated deans and administrators who took the time to do so.

Basic takeaways affirm the trend we've been documenting of a continuing shortage of nurse educators. Budgeted unfilled faculty spots are going begging due to a lack of qualified candidates. The survey also, disappointingly, indicates continued underrepresentation among nurse faculty of individuals of color and of men, while confirming the aging of the nursing education workforce. Moving forward, we must all advocate for and support critical Title VIII and other streams of state and regional funding to fill the looming personnel gaps in nursing education. Title VIII has been successfully passed in the House and now needs that same affirmation in the Senate. As always, I encourage you to work to expand diversity in our schools of nursing and to attract a younger segment of nurses to pursue degree requirements and then become nurse educators in the coming years. (You may find comprehensive survey details here.)

Finally, let me return to the unique, never experienced before Summit. Did I mention the fun we are sure to have, spending time renewing friendships, identifying mentors and protégés while exploring the Windy City's awesome cultural and other attractions? Be sure to enjoy the famed "Magnificent Mile," on the city's North Michigan Avenue. Shopping along the Magnificent Mile will be part of our national contribution to Chicago, one of the most beautiful cities in our country. The opportunity to shop is just steps from our Summit site at the Hyatt Regency! The Summit will end with an elegant evening of celebration hosted by our President G. Rumay Alexander. You will totally enjoy, learn, and enjoy some more…

But don't take my word for it. Check out our thorough Summit-dedicated website. Everything you need to know about the 2018 Summit is there, including easy online registration. I urge you to take action now, as we are fast approaching capacity.

In the meantime, please delight in the final weeks of summer, as you prepare to pack your bag and make your way to Chicago.

See you at the Summit!

P.S. Text to Donate for Summit is back. But you don't have to wait until September. To mark our 125 years of excellence in nursing education, the simple message is: NLN Count Me In! I'm a Giver for NLN's 125^th. Your donations directly benefit the next generation of nurse educators. Make your online gift today.

Check out this National Web-based Network for Anonymous Reporting of Student Errors and Near Misses from NCSBN, Read More. Upcoming Webinar Series: Focus on the NLN CNEA Standards of Accreditation on August 29. Register Today. Death rates from liver cancer increased 43% for American adults from 2000 to 2016, Learn More. Celebrate 125 years of NLN leadership in nursing education at #NLNSummit18 — Registration is Open Register Today.

Next Issue of the NLN Member Update: Wednesday, September 5, 2018. View previous issues of NLN Member Update »