Awards and accolades-May 2016

The UW School of Nursing is pleased to announce the following awards, accolades and updates by faculty and students.

Faculty awards and updates

Wendy Barrington, assistant professor, Psychosocial and Community Health, and Doris Boutain, assistant professor, Psychosocial and Community Health, received funding for their research group that seeks to address health disparities in African Americans related to obesity and cancer. With assistance from Barrington’s mentee Sanithia Parker, the group pairs public health researchers with advocates from the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church’s health ministry. The group received funding from the Fred Hutch Health Disparities Research Center. Read more.

Robin Evans-Agnew, assistant professor, Nursing and Healthcare Leadership at UW Tacoma, received a distinguished community engagement award for demonstrating an understanding of the intersection between social justice, health and community-focused work. Evans-Agnew earned his PhD from our school and has built diverse and innovative partnerships to address the harmful effects of woodsmoke and indoor-air pollution.

Sandra Adams Motzer, associate professor emerita in Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, received with the Distinguished Retiree Excellence in Community Service Award. The Awards of Excellence honor members of the UW community who exemplify the University’s values with special distinction. To read more about these awards and their history, visit the Honors & Awards site. The 46th Annual Awards of Excellence ceremony takes place Thursday, June 9 at 3:30 p.m. in Meany Theater.

Student and alumni awards and updates

Aluma Patricia Hurn, 81′ has been named dean of the University of Michigan School of Nursing. She currently is the vice chancellor for research and innovation and executive officer of the University of Texas System. She also was appointed professor of nursing with tenure. Hurn earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in nursing at the University of Washington. She has a doctorate in physiology from Johns Hopkins University, where she started her academic career.

Patricia Smith, BSN student, received a scholarship from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA). A series of scholarships were given to celebrate local nursing students’ passion to pursue oncology nursing. Called the “Future of Oncology Nursing Scholarship,” this scholarship program awarded three students each with a $3,000 scholarship to put toward their senior year of nursing school. The award was presented by professor and chair of Family and Child Nursing Gail Houck, RN, Ph.D.; assistant professor of Family and Child Nursing Amy Walker, RN, Ph.D.; and assistant dean for advancement Renee Duprel, all from the University of Washington School of Nursing. Smith was inspired to become a nurse after her youngest son had brain surgery for uncontrolled seizures. Read more.

PhD nursing students Zijing Chen and Jungeun Lee received 2016 American Thoracic Society (ATS) abstract scholarships. Their abstracts were selected by the Assembly of Nursing Program Committee chair. Their Abstract Scholarship certificate and check were presented at this year’s Assembly Membership Meeting at the ATS International Conference on May 16, 2016 in San Francisco, Calif.

King County Nurses Association Scholarships: Three nursing students were awarded scholarships from the King County Nurses Association. Students who received the scholarships demonstrated an understanding of equity and social justice through creative ideas to improve health disparities in our community.  

• Mee Kyung Lee is earning her PhD in Psychosocial & Community Nursing. She previously worked four years in the Pediatric ICU at Seoul National University’s Children’s Hospital, where she became interested in the management of chronic disease in children.
   
• Sharee Squires is completing her doctoral study in Nursing Science. She holds a BSN from Arizona State University and a BS in Zoology from the UW. She is a research assistant in the UW Department of Psychosocial and Community Health and a staff nurse at UWMC. For the past five years, she has served as president of the Pacific Northwest chapter of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses.
• Alicia Taff is in the Accelerated BSN program. She holds CNA and Phlebotomy certificates, and a BS in Biology from University of Wisconsin, Madison. She works as a dialysis technician at Northwest Kidney Center and volunteers with Professional Organization of Nursing Students and the Graduate and Professional Student Senate.