American
Association of Colleges of Nurses Initiates
New Partnership with the Friends of the Division of Nursing
Howard
University's Dorothy L. Powell Appointed as AACN's Representative
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 18, 2001 --
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is
pleased to announce that it has formed a strategic alliance
with the Friends of the Division of Nursing. The Friends
is an autonomous, advocacy group that supports the work
of the Division of Nursing, an arm of the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services' Bureau of Health Professions.
"AACN
welcomes this opportunity to partner with the Friends which
will enable us to pool our efforts and work together to
advance nursing issues and improve health care on a national
level," said Carolyn A. Williams, PhD, RN, FAAN, president
of AACN and dean of the University of Kentucky's College
of Nursing.
Under
this new partnership, AACN will act as the umbrella organization
for the Friends and work in tandem with this group to support
the mission of the Division of Nursing. The Division provides
national leadership to assure an adequate supply and distribution
of qualified nursing personnel across the country. In March
2001, AACN and the Friends held their first joint function,
a Capitol Hill forum on Strengthening the Nursing Workforce,
to raise awareness of federally funded programs that have
been effective in promoting nursing education and encouraging
careers in nursing.
Dorothy
L. Powell, EdD, RN, FAAN, Associate Dean of Howard University's
Division of Nursing, has been named AACN's official representative
to the Friends. Dr. Powell recently completed her second
two-year term on the AACN's Board of Directors. During her
Board tenure, she chaired the Bylaws Task Force, chaired
the subcommittee to develop a Conflict of Interest Statement,
and served on the Board subcommittee to establish AACN's
first Community Advisory Commission. In addition, Dr. Powell
has represented AACN at the Office of Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion and at the White House on Medicare
Graduate Medical Education discussions.
"We
are delighted that Dr. Powell has accepted this new post
which is a good match for her skills as a strong leader
and an advocate for nursing," added Williams.
The American Association of Colleges
of Nursing is the national voice for university and four-year-college
education programs in nursing. Representing more than 580
member schools of nursing at public and private institutions
nationwide, AACN's educational, research, governmental advocacy,
data collection, publications, and other programs work to
establish quality standards for bachelor's- and graduate-degree
nursing education, assist deans and directors to implement
those standards, influence the nursing profession to improve
health care, and promote public support of baccalaureate
and graduate nursing education, research, and practice.
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CONTACT: Robert Rosseter
(202) 463-6930, x231
rrosseter@aacn.nche.edu
