STTI Inducts Four Honorary Members
Ceremonies conducted in New York City and Cape Town.
Four honorary members have recently been inducted by President Hester C. Klopper, PhD, MBA, RN, RM, FANSA, and CEO Patricia E. Thompson, EdD, RN, FAAN, into the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI). Barbara and Donald Jonas were inducted 8 December in New York City, USA. In November,Dan Kaseje and Chris Myburgh were inducted in Cape Town, South Africa.
STTI’s board of directors grants honorary membership to individuals who are not eligible for regular membership but have demonstrated sustained achievements that have contributed to the advancement of nursing and health care at the national or global levels.
Philanthropists Barbara Jonas, MSW, FAAN, and Donald Jonas, FAAN, are founders of the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare, which provides grants to develop outstanding faculty, advance scholarship, and spark innovative practice.
“Barbara and Donald Jonas have been delightful partners to many nurse leaders,” wrote Susan Gennaro, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean of the Boston College William F. Connell School of Nursing, in her letter of nomination. “This couple has led the way in what is possible if one wants to commit to the belief that nursing is the backbone of health care.”
In her nomination letter, STTI Treasurer Nancy C. Sharts-Hopko, PhD, RN, FAAN, said, “Barbara and Donald Jonas have profoundly affected our progress as a profession toward meeting the Institute of Medicine recommendation that the number of nurses with doctorates be doubled by 2020.”
Two Jonas Scholars are collaborating with the honor society’s International Leadership Institute. Kevin Ousman, MSN, RN, manager of the Center for Global Nursing at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, will lead the development of the Global Nurse Executive Leadership Institute, while Daniel Ochylski, MS, RN, nurse entrepreneur and CEO of Independent Nursing Services Inc., will develop a new leadership academy within STTI’s International Leadership Institute.
Dan Kaseje, vice chancellor of Great Lakes University of Kisumu, Kenya, and Chris Myburgh, professor at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, were inducted during the International Council on Women’s Health Issues and Tau Lambda-at-Large Chapter Conference, 10-12 November in Cape Town, South Africa.
An advocate for improved public health in Africa, Kaseje earned a PhD in tropical medicine from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, a master’s in public health from Harvard School of Public Health, and a medical degree from the University of Nairobi.
“Professor Dan Kaseje has been involved in a unique mix of academic, practical, programmatic, managerial, research, and consultancy leadership,” Klopper said. Kaseje has supported nursing development in Kenya and provided opportunities for nurse academics to excel, including exchange programs to enable nurses to complete postgraduate studies.
Chris Myburgh, a professor in the Faculty of Education, Department of Psychology at the University of Johannesburg, has mentored South African students on writing for publications, qualitative and quantitative research designs, theory development, and postgraduate supervision. Theauthor of more than 150 articles and chapters in books, he is rated as an established researcher by the National Research Foundation.
M. Davhana-Maselesele, DPhil, is one of more than 100 PhD candidates Myburgh has supervised. In her letter of nomination, she wrote: “Professor Myburgh is one of the few academics in education in South Africa who views it as his mission to address the challenge of postgraduate outputs and building research capacity nationally and internationally. He has inspired nursing colleagues and postgraduate students in nursing science to be the best they can be.”
Learn more about nominating an individual for honorary membership. RNL
Published 12/15/2014, Vol. 40, No. 4
LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: www.reflectionsonnursingleadership.org