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

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

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 5, 2016 – The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is pleased to announce the results of its 2016 election to fill seats on the AACN Board of Directors and Nominating Committee. With votes cast by member deans from the nation's schools of nursing with baccalaureate and higher degree programs, those joining AACN's top leadership ranks include Board Members Ann Cary from the University of Missouri Kansas City (chair-elect), Judy Beal from Simmons College (secretary), Anita Hufft from Texas Woman's University, Cynthia McCurren from Grand  Valley State University, and Lepaine Sharp-McHenry from Oklahoma Baptist University. New members of AACN's Nominating Committee include Vicki Keough from Loyola University Chicago and Julie Sanford from James Madison University. 
  
"On behalf of AACN's diverse membership, I am pleased to welcome these new and returning members to the Board of Directors and Nominating Committee who will help take the organization to new heights," said AACN Board Chair Eileen T. Breslin, PhD, RN, FAAN. "As the national voice for academic nursing, AACN strives to be the catalyst for innovation in nursing education that will improve health and health care. This critical work can only be achieved through the collective efforts of leaders like these who are committed to advancing AACN's mission and strategic priorities." 
  
Those elected to the AACN Board of Directors and Nominating Committee will begin their terms of service following the business meeting at AACN's Spring Annual Meeting on Monday, March 21, 2016. New and re-elected board members include:

• Ann Cary, PhD, MPH, RN, FNAP, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC), was re-elected to the AACN Board as chair-elect from 2016-2018 and will serve as chair from 2018-2020. Prior to her appointment at UMKC in 2013, 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 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Executive Nurse Fellows program, she serves as president of the RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows Alumni and 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. A graduate of the AACN-Wharton Executive Leadership Program, Dr. Cary currently serves as chair of AACN's Membership Committee and the new Leadership Development Advisory Group. She previously served as a member of the Finance Committee and chair of the Organizational Leadership Network.
  
• Judy Beal, DNSc, RN, FNAP, FAAN, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Simmons College in Boston, was re-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 served 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 named a fellow of the National Academy of Practice and the American Academy of Nursing. 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.
  
• Anita Hufft, PhD, RN, dean of the College of Nursing at Texas Woman's University, was re-elected as an AACN board member-at-large. Dr. Hufft's career in nursing education has included appointments at Valdosta State University, Louisiana State University Health Science Center, Indiana University Southeast, Spalding University, Houston Baptist University, and William Carey College. Her service commitments include serving as co-chair of the Texas Medical Center Dean and Provost Council and 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 Government Affairs Committee (chair), NursingCAS Advisory Committee, Baccalaureate Education Conference Planning Committee, and the State Grassroots Liaisons program.
  
• Cynthia McCurren, PhD, RN, dean of the Kirkhof College of Nursing at Grand Valley State University (GVSU), was elected as an AACN board member at large. Prior to her current appointment at GVSU in 2007, she served in a variety leadership and teaching roles at the University of Louisville (U of L) from 1983-2007, including interim dean and associate dean for academic affairs, and director of nursing research for U of L Hospital. Active in Michigan's nursing community, she currently serves on the Board of the Michigan Organization of Nursing Executives, is the president of the Michigan Association of Colleges of Nursing, and was an appointed member of the Michigan Task Force for Nursing Education/Michigan Nursing Education Council. Her service to the association includes AACN board member at large, program committee chair, state grassroots liaison, and member of the Planning Committee for the Hot Issues and Baccalaureate Education Conferences. Dr. McCurren currently serves on the newly formed AACN Leadership Development Advisory Group.
  
• Lepaine Sharp-McHenry, DNP, RN, FACONDA, dean of the College of Nursing at Oklahoma Baptist University, was elected as an AACN board member-at-large. Prior to her current appointment as dean in 2013, she worked as a nurse educator for 15 years at the University of Arkansas, which included serving in the role of assistant director of the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing. Her background in nursing regulation and practice includes service as vice president of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, vice president of the National Association of Directors of Nursing Administration, founding president of the Arkansas Directors of Nursing Administrators in Long Term Care, and president of the Arkansas Society for Healthcare Educators. She was appointed by Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to serve on the state's Minority Health Commission, the Long Term Care Facility Advisory Board, and the Arkansas State Board of Nursing. For AACN, Dr. Sharp-McHenry has served on the Finance Committee and as a state grassroots liaison.

Continuing members of the AACN Board of Directors include Susan Bakewell-Sachs from Oregon Health and Science University, Greer Glazer from the University of Cincinnati, Teri Murray from Saint Louis University, Juliann Sebastian from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Kristen Swanson from the Seattle University, and David Vlahov from the University of California San Francisco. 

The newly elected members to AACN's Nominating Committee include:

• Vicki Keough, PhD, APRN-BC, ACNP, FAAN, dean of the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing at Loyola University Chicago, was elected to the Nominating Committee. Prior to assuming the role of dean in 2010, her long-time affiliation with the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing includes service as associate dean for graduate programs (2003-2009) and faculty member (1993-2002). A well-respected community leader, she currently serves as vice chair of the Illinois Association of Colleges of Nursing and has served as past co-chair of the Illinois Health Action Coalition-Seamless Progression Task Force. Active in AACN's Dean Mentoring program, Dr. Keough is a graduate of the AACN-Wharton Executive Leadership Program. A fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the Institute of Medicine of Chicago, she has been recognized by the Emergency Nurses Association with the prestigious Judith Kelleher Award (2014) and the Frank Cole Emergency Nurse Practitioner Award (2007).
  
• Julie Sanford, DNS, RN, director of the School of Nursing at James Madison University (JMU), was elected to the Nominating Committee. Prior to coming to JMU in 2011, her career in nursing education included leadership and teaching roles at the University of South Alabama, University of Southern Mississippi, and Spring Hill College. Her leadership within the profession extends to serving as vice chair of the Virginia Association of Colleges of Nursing, executive director of the Caregivers Community Network, and member of the Virginia Action Coalition's Education Progression Sub-committee. She also provided leadership in establishing the International Network of Universities' Nursing Leader Collaborative. For AACN, Dr. Sanford has served on the Program Committee, as chair of the Baccalaureate Education Conference Planning Committee, as a state grassroots liaison, and as a mentor in the New Dean Mentoring program. She is a graduate of the AACN-Wharton Executive Leadership Program.

Other Nominating Committee members include Eileen Breslin from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Jean Giddens from Virginia Commonwealth University, and Sarah Thompson from the University of Colorado.