AACN Announces Election Results for New Board & Nominating Committee

AACN Announces Election Results for
New Board of Directors and Nominating Committee Members

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 7, 2014 – The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is pleased to announce the results of its 2014 election to fill seats on the AACN Board of Directors and Nominating Committee. With votes cast by member deans and directors from the nation’s schools of nursing with baccalaureate and higher degree programs, those joining AACN’s top leadership ranks include Board members Juliann Sebastian from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Judy Beal from Simmons College, Ann Cary from the University of Missouri Kansas City, Harriet Feldman from Pace University, and Anita Hufft from Valdosta State University. New members of AACN’s Nominating Committee include Philip Greiner from San Diego State University and Terri Weaver from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

“On behalf of AACN’s member deans, faculty, and students, I am pleased to welcome these new and returning members to the Board and Nominating Committee who will help take the organization to new heights,” said AACN President Jane Kirschling, PhD, RN, FAAN. “As the national voice for baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, AACN is at the forefront of transforming how nurses are educated and how patient care is delivered. This critical work can only be achieved through the collective efforts of leaders like these who are committed to realizing AACN’s mission and goals.”

Those elected to the AACN Board and Nominating Committee will begin their terms of service following the business meeting at AACN’s Spring Annual Meeting on Monday, March 24, 2014. New and re-elected Board members include:

• Juliann Sebastian, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean of the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing, was re-elected to the AACN Board as President Elect from 2014-2016 and will serve as President from 2016-2018.  Prior to her current appointment in Nebraska, she served as dean of the University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Nursing (2006-2011) and in several capacities at the University of Kentucky, including assistant dean for advanced practice nursing and co-director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program. She was a fellow in the inaugural cohort of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Executive Nurse Fellows Program and is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.  Her dedicated service to AACN includes chairing the Task Force on the Master’s Essential Tool Kit, serving as the Board’s liaison to the Task Force on the Essentials of Master’s Education in Nursing, and serving as a member of the Task Force on the Essentials of Nursing Education for the Doctor of Nursing Practice.
  
  
• Judy Beal, DNSc, RN, FNAP, FAAN, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Simmons College in Boston, was elected as AACN Board Secretary. Since 1986, Dr. Beal has served in a variety of leadership roles at Simmons College, including professor, director of research, associate dean, interim dean, and dean. In her home state of Massachusetts (MA), she serves as vice president of the MA Association of Colleges of Nursing, member of the MA Nursing and Allied Health Initiative Advisory Council for the Department of Higher Education, and co-chair of the MA Nurse of the Future Statewide Initiative. A fellow of the Harvard Institute of Management and Leadership in Education, Dr. Beal is an alumna of the RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Program and was recently named a fellow of the National Academy of Practice. Her long-time affiliation with AACN includes service as Board Member at Large, chair of the Nominating Committee, and chair of the AACN/AONE Steering Committee on Academic-Practice Partnerships.
  
• Ann Cary, PhD, MPH, RN, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC), was elected to serve a second two-year term on the Board.  Prior to her appointment at UMKC last year, Dr. Cary’s career includes service as director of Loyola University New Orleans School of Nursing and as associate dean at the University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Nursing. An alumnus of the RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program, she has served as president of the Jesuit Conference of Nursing Programs for the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, the Primary Care Policy Fellows Alumni Association, and the Association of Community Health Nurse Educators. For AACN, Dr. Cary has served as chair of the Membership Committee and member of the Finance Committee, and currently represents AACN in its work on compassionate care with The Arnold P. Gold Foundation.
  
  
• Harriet R. Feldman, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean and professor of the Pace University College of Health Professions and Lienhard School of Nursing, was elected for a two-year term as Board Member at Large. Dr. Feldman, who recently served as Interim Provost at Pace University, has been active in nursing education at the state and national levels, including service on the board of Nurses Education Fund, Inc., as an appointed member of the New York State Board of Nursing, and member and past president of the New York State Council of Deans of Nursing. She has served on the board of the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education for 8 years, including a two-year appointment as Board Chair. Dr. Feldman’s work with AACN includes service on the Government Affairs Committee, the Mentoring Subcommittee, and as a State Grassroots Liaison. 
  
  
• Anita Hufft, PhD, RN, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Valdosta State University, was elected as an AACN Board Member at Large. Dr. Hufft’s career in nursing education has included appointments at Louisiana State University Health Science Center, Indiana University Southeast, Spalding University, Houston Baptist University, and William Carey College. Her service commitments have extended to serving on the Georgia Board of Nursing, Georgia Board of Regents Nursing Education Task Force, International Association of Forensic Nurses Board of Directors, and the SREB Council on College Education for Nursing Board of Directors. For AACN, Dr. Hufft has been actively engaged in the NursingCAS Advisory Committee, the Baccalaureate Education Conference Planning Committee, and the State Grassroots Liaisons program.

Continuing members of the AACN Board of Directors include Eileen Breslin with the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, Margaret Faut Callahan from Marquette University, Greer Glazer from the University of Cincinnati, Cynthia McCurren from Grand Valley State University, Patsy Ruchala from the University of Nevada Reno, and David Vlahov from the University of California San Francisco.

The newly elected members to AACN’s Nominating Committee includes:

• Philip Greiner, DNSc, RN, professor and director of the School of Nursing at San Diego State University (SDSU), was elected by the AACN membership to serve for two years. Prior to his current appointment at SDSU in 2012, Dr. Greiner held a variety of teaching and leadership roles at Pace University, Fairfield University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Kentucky, Villanova University, and the University of Pennsylvania. He has been active over the years in a number of national and state organizations, including the American Nurses Association, American Public Health Association, Association of Community Health Nurse Educators, and the National Nursing Centers Consortium. A 2010 fellow of the Leadership for Academic Nursing Program, Dr. Greiner is currently serving on AACN’s Futures Task Force, is a State Grassroots Liaison, and has been an active member and chair of the Organizational Leadership Network.
  
• Terri Weaver, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing, was elected to a two-year term on AACN’s Nominating Committee. In addition to her decade-long service as chair of the Biobehavioral Health Sciences Division at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Dr. Weaver has earned national recognition for her work on the executive committee of the World Federation of Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine Societies and through board appointments with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, American Board of Sleep Medicine, American Sleep Medicine Foundation, American Academy of Nursing, Sleep Research Society, American Lung Association, and American Thoracic Society. For AACN, Dr. Weaver has served on the Hot Topics Conference Planning Committee and the program committee for the Academic Health Centers meeting held last fall.

Other Nominating Committee members include James Fain with the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, Jane Kirschling from the University of Maryland (beginning March 2014), and Dianne Morrison-Beedy from the University of South Florida.

EDITORS NOTE: Photos of all new AACN Board members are available upon request.  Please contact rrosseter@aacnnursing.org.