Congratulations to Dr. Audrey Nelson ’77 and Dr. Versie Johnson Mallard ’05 who were honored on Aug. 5 during the Summer 2011 Pinning Ceremony for their outstanding contributions to the College of Nursing since their graduation.
Reinstating a former tradition, the USF College of Nursing Alumni and Friends Society accepted nominations for the Distinguished Alumni Award and Outstanding Young Alumni Award this past year. All of the nominations we received were subject to a blind review by the selection committee and scored using a rubric created to evaluate both the quality and applicability of each nomination in the given category. Below is information on each award recipient: Distinguished Alumnus Award: Dr. Audrey Nelson ’77, Center Director of the Patient Safety Center of Inquiry. Dr. Nelson founded the first nurse-led VA Center of Excellence for research in safe patient handling and mobility. As a nurse scientist, she has led a program of research and research translation in safe patient handling that is now culminating in a $200 million VA-wide implementation program funded by the VA.
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award: Dr. Versie Johnson Mallard ’05, Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Faculty Scholar and Assistant Professor at the USF College of Nursing. Dr. Johnson Mallard is also the recipient of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society Rising Star Award and has participated on nine funded studies, had fifteen peer-reviewed publications and eighteen referred posters/abstracts. Currently, she has assumed a national leadership position with the National League for Nursing. Dr. Nelson and Dr. Johnson Mallard were not the only honored guests in attendance at the Summer 2011 Pinning Ceremony.
Alumni were joined by over 800 graduating students and their families and friends. 134 baccalaureate students graduated this semester, and an unbelievable 31% of these students received University honors! Congratulations to all of the graduates!
Print to Page
Email to a Friend
