ECU College of Nursing inducts 22 new members into Hall of Fame

Published Mar 23, 2021 by

Natalie Sayewich

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More than 20 nurse leaders officially joined the ranks of the ECU College of Nursing’s most esteemed alumni and supporters on Friday, March 5, while two received the honorable Distinguished Alumni title during the college’s virtual Hall of Fame ceremony.

Because the pandemic forced the celebration of the 2019-2020 inductees to be postponed, this year’s celebration honored both 2019-20 and 2020-21 inductees and Distinguished Alumni. The group of 22 inductees and two Distinguished Alumni — Dr. Mary Chatman and Dr. Kimberly Hardy — comprised the largest group honored at once since the Hall of Fame’s inception in 2011, when the college inducted 40 inaugural members.

Distinguished Alumni

Dr. Mary Chatman
2019-20 Recipient

Dr. Kimberly Hardy
2020-21 Recipient

The new inductees included current and former faculty members, accomplished clinicians, decorated military veterans, nurse scientists, leadership of major health systems and humanitarian organizations, as well as leaders of county, state and federal government health organizations.

The Hall of Fame, which honors outstanding contributors to nursing in education, administration, research and practice, has raised $150,805 to date for merit-based student nursing scholarships since 2011. It is one of only two academic hall of fame programs at ECU. This year’s event raised more than $25,000 in scholarship funds.

“While not only are we recognizing the accomplishments of our great leaders in nursing, it’s also a way of giving back to prepare a new nursing workforce,” said Dr. Sylvia Brown, dean of the College of Nursing.

The new inductees joined 120 other nurse leaders as Hall of Fame members. Each received a flame-shaped award that mirrors the flame featured in the College of Nursing pin, representing a vibrant life.

Hall of Fame Scholarship recipient Catherine Taylor, a second-year PhD student and ICU nurse, thanked the Hall of Fame members and scholarship donors during the event.

“Times have been very challenging, as you can imagine during COVID-19, working as a nurse, also as a student,” Taylor said. “But receiving this scholarship has taken some of the pressure off of me, allowed me to focus on my studies and continue working as a nurse.”