Newly Elected Board Members also include President-Elect Kathleen Potempa and Members-at-Large Timothy Gaspar and Juliann Sebastian
WASHINGTON, April 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- C. Fay Raines, PhD, RN, dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, was elected to serve a two-year term as President of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Dr. Raines assumed the presidency at AACN's Spring Annual Meeting held in Washington, D.C. earlier this month.
"As we move forward on several fronts to improve the quality of patient care and transform professional nursing education, I am grateful for this opportunity to serve AACN as President and help lead this important work," said Dr. Raines. "Over the next two years, I look forward to working collaboratively to address the challenges confronting our member schools, including the faculty shortage, while joining with stakeholders to advance the goals of professional nursing education, research, and practice."
In addition to her 18-year tenure as the dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Dr. Raines served as the university's Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness from 1997 through 2007. Prior to her time in Alabama, she held several positions at the University of Virginia including interim dean, associate dean for academic programs, assistant dean for undergraduate programs, and assistant/associate professor. A psychiatric mental health nurse, Dr. Raines earned both her baccalaureate and master's degrees in nursing from the University of Virginia, and a PhD in nursing from the University of Maryland.
Dr. Raines' service on behalf of AACN has spanned more than 15 years, and she has been instrumental in establishing the organization as the leading voice for professional nursing education. She served as the chair of the AACN Task Force on Articulation; a member of a joint AACN/AONE Task Force on Differentiated Practice; and as a reviewer for two geriatric nursing education projects funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation. She also served for three years on the subcommittee responsible for programming AACN's annual Master's Education Conference. Most recently, Dr. Raines served for the past six years on the Executive Committee of the AACN Board of Directors as Treasurer from 2002-2005 and President-Elect from 2006-2008.
Dr. Raines' leadership in academic nursing extends into many arenas at both the state and regional levels. A former President of the State of Alabama Association of Colleges of Nursing (SAACN), she currently serves on the Emergency Response Commission on the Health Care Crisis in Alabama and on the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, State Planning Committee for Higher Education. In addition, Dr. Raines also has served as the Director for Reaffirmation of Accreditation for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) since 2003 and on the Advisory Committee for the Rural Alabama and Mississippi Professional Training Consortium.
Other newly elected members of the AACN Board of Directors include:
Kathleen Potempa, DNSc, RN, FAAN, dean of the University of Michigan School of Nursing, who was elected to serve as AACN's President-Elect from 2008-2010 and will assume the role of President from 2010-2012. Dr. Potempa has been an educator in baccalaureate and higher degree programs since 1978 and an administrator since 1975. Prior to her deanship at the University of Michigan, she was appointed dean of Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) School of Nursing in 1996 and promoted to vice president and dean in 2002. Prior to OHSU, Dr. Potempa was interim dean and associate dean at University of Illinois at Chicago and director of the WHO Collaborating Center in Nursing and Midwifery. She also was elected twice to the AACN Board of Directors as Member-at-Large (2000-2002) and Secretary (2002-2004), and served the organization in a variety of roles, including chair of the Task Force on Distance Technology in Education and member of the Task Force on the Hallmarks of Professional Nursing Practice.
Timothy Gaspar, PhD, RN, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Winona State University, who was elected to a two-year term on the Board as Member-at-Large. With a career spanning almost 30 years in academic nursing, Dr. Gaspar served as professor and dean at Winona State University since 1995 after serving in a variety of capacities at South Dakota State University, including department head, associate professor, assistant professor, and instructor. His long-time service to AACN includes convener of the Nominating Committee, member of the Finance Committee, and member on the Task Force on Educational Mobility.
Juliann G. Sebastian, PhD, RN, CNS-BC, FAAN, dean of the University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Nursing, who was elected to the Board to serve a two-year term as Member-at-Large. Prior to her current appointment at the University of Missouri, she served in several capacities at the University of Kentucky, including assistant dean for advanced practice nursing, professor, associate professor, and co-director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program. Dr. Sebastian has been actively engaged in AACN as chair of the Faculty Practice Conference Subcommittee, member of the Program Committee, and member of the Task Force on the Essentials of Nursing Education for the Doctor of Nursing Practice.
Also re-elected to a second two-year term on the AACN Board of Directors were Jane Kirschling, DNS, RN, dean of the University of Kentucky College of Nursing who will continue to serve on the Executive Committee as Secretary, and Board Member-at-Large Martha Hill, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Newly elected members to AACN's Nominating Committee also were announced at the Spring Annual Meeting and include Melanie Dreher, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean of the Rush University Medical Center College of Nursing, and Carolyn Yucha, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas School of Nursing.
EDITORS NOTE: Photos of all new AACN Board members are available upon request. Please contact [email protected].
SOURCE American Association of Colleges of Nursing
