Leadership is in our DNA

Leadership has been in the School’s DNA from the beginning, with past deans, faculty members and alumni paving the way with visionary leadership to lay the foundation for today's nationally ranked nursing school. This leadership extends from the School to national nursing and other professional organizations and has impacted the health and health care of millions of people.

Dean and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair Maria R. Shirey, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, ANEF, FACHE, FNAP, FAAN, is an internationally recognized expert in nursing leadership and management. She has led the American Board of Nursing Specialties as Past President and is a Past Chair of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Certification Corporation Board of Directors.

Four UABSON alumni have served as President of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, the largest specialty nursing organization in the world—more than any other school. These include Joanne Disch, PhD, RN, FAAN (MSN 1976); Sandra Dunbar, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAHA, FPCNA (PhD 1982); Marguerite Kinney Handlin, DNSc, RN, FAAN (BSN 1961, MSN 1967); and Joan Vitello-Cicciu, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAHA, FAAN (MSN 1982).

Alumni and faculty also have led other national organizations, including Disch who served as President of the American Academy of Nursing and chaired the board of the AARP as well as alumnus Larry Hornsby, BSN, BS, CRNA, FAANA (BSN 1981, BS 1985), who served as President of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.

This year, nearly a dozen UABSON faculty members are serving in leadership roles in national nursing and other professional organizations, and the School is committed to nurturing faculty who strive to shape the future of nursing through impactful leadership and professional excellence.

Current faculty, many of whom also are alumni, that are current or past leaders of national nursing and other professional organizations include:

• Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Clinical Education Aimee Holland, DNP, WHNP-BC, FNP-C, FAANP, FAAN (DNP 2012), has served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health
• Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Technology and Innovation Penni Watts, PhD, RN, CHSE-A, FNAP, ANEF, FSSH, FAAN (PhD 2015), is President of the International Nursing Association of Clinical Simulation and Learning
• Associate Dean and Professor Felesia Bowen, PhD, DNP, APRN, PPCNP-BC, FADLN, FAAN, is President of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
• Adjunct Assistant Professor Grace Grau, DNP, CRNP, ACNP-BC, AACC, FAAN (DNP 2015), is President-Elect of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses
• Associate Professor and Nurse Executive Pathway Director Heather Nelson-Brantley, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, CNE, FAAN, is President of the Association for Leadership Science in Nursing
• Associate Professor Melanie Gibbons Hallman, DNP, CRNP, FNP-BC, ACNP-BC, ENP-C, CEN, TCRN, FAEN, FAANP, FAAN (BSN 1983, MSN 1990, MSN 1995, DNP 2012), is President of the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners
• Professor Karen Heaton, PhD, CRNP, FNP‐BC, FAAOHN, FAAN (BSN 1981), is President-Elect of the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses
• Associate Professor Martha A. Dawson, DNP, RN, FACHE, FADLN, FAAN (BSN 1976, MSN 1984), served two terms as President of the National Black Nurses Association Inc.
• Associate Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Family, Community and Health Systems Curry Bordelon, DNP, MBA, CRNP, NNP‐BC, CPNP‐AC, CNE, ANEF, FNAP, FAAN (DNP 2016), is President-Elect of the American Association for Men in Nursing
• Professor and Associate Dean for Clinical and Global Partnerships Michele Talley, PhD, CRNP, ACNP-BC, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN (MSN 2005, PhD 2015), is President-Elect of the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association

In addition, hundreds of faculty and alumni are Fellows in professional organizations, including more than 130 Fellows in the American Academy of Nursing and more than 50 Fellows in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Other organizations include the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the Academy of Emergency Nursing, the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology, the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American College of Nurse Midwives, the American Heart Association, the Gerontological Society of America, the Hospice & Palliative Nurses Association, the National Academies of Practice and the National Black Nurses Association.

-Laura Gasque