Back to News Dr. Jackie Barber Elected to AACN Board of Directors Tuesday, April 28, 2026 | Membership AACN is pleased to announce that Jackie Barber, EdD, MSN, RN, CNS, CNL, dean at Morningside University, has been elected to the AACN Board of Directors. Dr. Barber will serve as a Member-at-Large through March 31, 2027. AACN held a special election in April to fill an unexpired term on the Board with votes cast by member deans. Dr. Jackie Barber is an accomplished nursing leader with extensive national service and committee involvement. She actively contributes to AACN as an Essentials Consultant Coach (2023–present) and has served on multiple high-impact initiatives, including the Revision of the Clinical Nurse Leader Core Competencies Task Force (2022–2025) and the Essentials Revision Task Force (2018–2021). She previously chaired the AACN Nominating Committee (2022–2023). Beyond AACN, Dr. Barber serves as Chair of the Iowa Board of Nursing and has contributed nationally as a board member for the Commission on Nurse Certification. Dr. Barber’s academic and scholarly work reflects deep expertise in community/population health, critical care, leadership, and the Clinical Nurse Leader role. She has served as Grant Recipient and Project Director for the Nurse Faculty Loan Program (HRSA, 2022) and the HRSA ANEW grant (2023–present), and as Principal Investigator for the National Institute “All of Us” grant (2019). Her recognitions include the AACN Wharton Executive Leadership Award (2020), Siouxland Nurse of the Year: Excellence in Nursing Award (2021), Morningside College Thompson Employee of the Year (2019), and multiple faculty excellence awards. Dr. Barber currently serves as Dean and Professor at Morningside University’s Nylen School of Nursing and Health Sciences, a role she has held since 2015. With over 30 years in higher education and a decade of leadership as dean, she has led significant institutional transformation, including the acquisition and integration of a healthcare college to expand educational pathways and strengthen academic-practice partnerships.