Excellence in Nursing Education, Research, and Practice Celebrated at AACN’s Academic Nursing Leadership Conference

This year at the 2025 Academic Nursing Leadership Conference (ANLC), held November 1-3 in Washington, DC, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) honored several individuals and member institutions with awards for their outstanding contributions to nursing education, research, and practice.

Dr. Mary Wakefield, one of the nation’s most preeminent nurse leaders and an authority on health policy, rural healthcare, patient safety, and workforce development, received the 2025 John P. McGovern Lectureship Award. Dr. Wakefield is being recognized for her leadership and impact across health policy, rural healthcare, patient safety, and workforce development.   Throughout her career, Dr. Wakefield has held high-profile federal appointments, including Acting Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and Counselor to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At HRSA, Dr. Wakefield led and initiated program improvements to further strengthen the healthcare workforce, build healthier communities, increase health equity, and provide healthcare to geographically isolated and medically vulnerable populations. A member of the National Academy of Medicine, she co-chaired the expert committee that produced the landmark report on The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity. Named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing, she recently served as a Visiting Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and Georgetown University.

AACN also presented the 2025 Distinguished Partner Awards to two individuals whose collaboration has made a lasting impact on advancing the goals and priorities of academic nursing.

Dr. Robyn Begley received this recognition for her longstanding collaboration with AACN while serving in national leadership roles, including CEO of American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL), Senior Vice President and CNO of the American Hospital Association, and president of the AONL Foundation. She has been a true partner with AACN and has worked with the organization tirelessly to foster excellence through collaboration. Throughout her career, she has recognized the importance of academic and practice leaders working together to meet nursing education and workforce needs. Under her leadership, AACN and AONL developed the Shared Vision for Integrating Nursing Education and Practice, established joint meetings and days of dialogue for leaders to explore collaborative strategies, and launched the AACN–AONL Advisory Committee, charged with creating a comprehensive playbook for effective academic–practice partnerships. Dr. Begley has also been a strong advocate for the move to competency-based education and a supporter of the 2021 Essentials.

Dr. Darlene Curley received this recognition for her national leadership in advancing doctoral nursing education and her longstanding collaboration with AACN. As the former CEO of Jonas Philanthropies and Executive Director of the Jonas Center for Nursing and Veterans Healthcare, she worked to improve healthcare access, quality, and affordability and is widely recognized as a leader in healthcare policy and finance. Her visionary direction of the Jonas Foundation’s investment in doctoral nursing education expanded the program from 6 scholars in New York to 1,200 Jonas Scholars in all 50 states, strengthening the pipeline of faculty, researchers, and clinicians. Dr. Curley also consulted with AACN on creating the Foundation for Academic Nursing, served as the inaugural chair of its advisory committee, and launched the COVID-19 Student Support Fund, which provided scholarships nationwide and spurred additional philanthropic support. A longtime AACN partner, she previously received the AACN Honorary Associate Membership Award in 2018.

Institutional Awards

AACN member institutions were also be honored with the following awards at the ANLC:

The Innovations in Professional Nursing Education Award recognizes pioneering initiatives launched by schools of nursing committed to re-envisioning traditional models of nursing education and leading change. This year’s recipients include:

Small/Liberal Arts College Institutional Category:

Private Colleges and Universities Institutional Category:

Academic Health Center Institutional Category:

Public Colleges and Universities Institutional Category:

The Exemplary Academic-Practice Partnership Awards were presented to AACN member schools and their clinical partners recognizing highly productive and model partnerships. This year’s recipients include:

Congratulations to these exceptional leaders and institutions whose dedication continues to strengthen nursing through excellence in education, research, and practice. Their contributions reflect the impact and innovation found across the academic nursing community.

AACN members are encouraged to apply for the 2026 award cycle. For more details, visit AACN’s Award page