Greetings from Baltimore!
I hope this finds you having survived the winter weather and getting ready to enjoy the coming spring! As you can tell, winter did not slow down the activities of our JHNAA.
First, I am very happy to introduce Erika Juengst, our new alumni director. Erika comes to us from the Development and Alumni Relations department at the Peabody Institute, where she worked with alumni, donors, and volunteers. Erika, a trained opera singer and alumnae of Peabody, is full of energy andlooking forward to further building connections and activity within our community. Her experience in development, alumni relations, and non-profit arts management will certainly benefit our association. We welcome Erika and look forward to working closely with her.
Dean Davidson continues to focus on the launch of the school’s new Master’s Entry into Nursing program, which will enroll its first class this fall. The program emphasizes leadership, global impact, quality and safety, and evidence-based interprofessional education. She continues to champion the role of nursing.
The dissolution of the separate JHNAA 501(c)3 went smoothly this winter and our funds are now invested in a designated endowment within the JHU portfolio. The earnings from this fund are designed to provide sufficient interest income to support annual activities such as professional archival care for our collections, Alumni Weekend festivities, and the cost of our Vigilando section in this magazine.
The JHNAA will celebrate the continuing legacy and wonderful spirit of its alumni and family during the weekend of September 24-26, 2015. If you are interested in participating in the planning activities, please contact me: [email protected].
We continue to be visible to our students through mentorships, panel discussions, and project support. Our vision this year is to have our alumni engage even more frequently with the students, who truly want to know more about our lives as nurses. The Alumni-Student Committee calls for volunteers to join!
Finally I want to remind you to support your alumni association. For those who have not done so, please consider making your gift. Being a part of our Alumni Association is all about staying connected, and there are so many ways to do so. Whether as an active volunteer on one of the numerous board committees, as a Class Ambassador, or simply as a member of the LinkedIn and Google+ groups, you can make an impact. As someone who has been involved in the life of Johns Hopkins Nursing since 1986, not a day passes that I don’t see the value of being a part of this community. I encourage all of you to do the same and reap the benefits of being an active JHNAA alumnae!
SUSAN KULIK, BSN ’86, MSN/MBA ’06, DNP ’12