AACN Announces Nurse Faculty Members Selected for the Inaugural Digital Academy

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 27, 2021 – The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is pleased to announce that 30 nursing faculty from across the nation have been selected to participate in the inaugural 2021 Digital Academy: Building the Essentials Tool Kit with Digital Innovation, which will be held on November 29-December 2 in Dallas, Texas.

AACN launched this new initiative to bring together innovative faculty members with Apple Distinguished Educators to develop digital projects around the 10 domains outlined in the new AACN Essentials. Program participants come from 20 states and represent an array of institution types, including small liberal arts programs, public and private schools, and large academic health centers.

“Building on our longstanding collaboration with Apple Education, we are excited to launch the Digital Academy, which helps to advance AACN's mission to serve as a catalyst for excellence and innovation in nursing education” said AACN President and Chief Executive Officer Deborah Trautman. “We look forward to seeing the creative tools and resources that faculty will develop to help schools implement the new curriculum standards for entry-level and advanced-level nursing education programs.”

During the Digital Academy faculty will finalize projects that leverage educational technology to offer new approaches to teaching and learning at schools of nursing. After completion of the academy, participants may submit their digital projects for inclusion in the Essentials implementation tool kit and for consideration as a poster presentation or abstract at one of AACN's conferences in 2022.

Following a highly competitive application process that was completed by 150 nursing faculty and staff, these individuals were selected to participate in the Digital Academy:

(Pictured from left to right)
View faculty bios here. 

• Jennifer Alderman, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
• Kelly Aldrich, Vanderbilt University
• Jennifer Bartlett, Mercer University
• Margaret Bavis, Rush University
• Jitana Benton-Lee, Northern Kentucky University
• Katherine Bravo, University of Nebraska
• Monee' Carter-Griffin, University of Texas at Arlington
• Bryan Combs, University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Michael Coriasco, Oregon Health and Science University
• Brandon Dominguez, West Coast University
• Barbara Gawron, Saint Xavier University
• Dayna Herrera, California Baptist University
• Lorraine Hirani, Arizona State University
• Krysia Hudson, Johns Hopkins University
• Nancy Husson, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Nakisha Kinlaw-Williams, Palm Beach Atlantic University
• Janet LoVerde, Benedictine University
• Kristen Mattox, Indiana University
• Susan McBride, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
• Jacqui McMillian-Bohler, Duke University
• Linda Morrow, Sacred Heart University
• Kimberly Palma, Chamberlain University
• Carla Parker, Baptist Health Sciences University
• Sabita Persaud, Notre Dame of Maryland University
• Margaret Quinn, Rutgers University
• Janet Reilly, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
• Linda Roney, Fairfield University
• Ronnie Sheridan, Creighton University
• Marcia Sotelo, American Public University System
• Rebecca Wilson, University of Utah

AACN is grateful to the following members of AACN’s Essentials Task Force and two alumni faculty from the 2018 Digital Innovation Bootcamp, who were instrumental in selecting faculty:

• Angela Amar, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Jacklyn Barber, Morningside College
• Lisa Merritt, University of Tennessee Knoxville (2018 Bootcamp Alumni)
• Connie Miller, University of Arizona
• Patricia Richards, University of Texas Medical Branch (2018 Bootcamp Alumni)
• Geraldine Young, Frontier Nursing University

For more information about the AACN-Apple Collaboration, see the Digital Academy event page.