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Past president honored with endowed chair
May L. Wykle, RN, PhD, FAAN, FGSA, past president of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International was honored on June 22 with the first professorship ever named for an African-American at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The presentation ceremony took place at a black-tie event called “The Art and Soul of Nursing: A Celebration,” held in the Grand Ballroom of The Renaissance Cleveland Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The event was co-chaired by Terry T. Fulmer, RN, PhD, FAAN, dean of New York University School of Nursing and past president of the Gerontological Society of America, and The Honorable Louis Stokes, retired U.S. congressman. To put the significance of the honor in context, it was observed on the event’s Web site: “The establishment of the May L. Wykle Professorship is a fitting way to honor a woman whose strength, compassion and leadership capture the art and soul of the nursing profession—and who continues to influence nursing issues on an international level, while inspiring the many successes of the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing [at Case Western Reserve University]. “The new professorship is, in fact, even more momentous when juxtaposed in the greater context of the number of endowed chairs at the top 50 universities and liberal arts colleges across the United States. Out of approximately 5,000 endowed chairs, research indicates that fewer than 150 of those chairs are held by African-Americans and far fewer endowed chairs are actually named for an African-American. As the first professorship at Case Western Reserve University to be named after an African-American, this vital fund will provide needed monies for a new faculty position at Frances Payne Bolton dedicated to excellence in nursing education.” In addition to the ceremony announcing the honor, the event also featured a gallery exhibit of black-and-white photography by Nannette Bedway, a sit-down dinner and live entertainment by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Bill Pinckney’s Original Drifters and local sensation Retrospect. The event was emceed by Barbara Gauthier, anchor and reporter for Cleveland’s WKYC-TV, Channel 3. For more information on the event, visit http://fpb.case.edu/ArtandSoul/ |
