Professor Earns National Nursing Honor

By Angela Flagg
VCU School of Nursing

Kenneth White, Ph.D., Sentara Professor, Department of Health Administration, and professor in the School of Nursing, was one of 176 nurse leaders from across the nation inducted as fellows during the American Academy of Nursing's 39th annual meeting and conference held Oct. 13 in Washington, D.C. Composed of the nation's top nurse researchers, policymakers, scholars, executives, educators and practitioners, the 2012 cohort is the largest class of inductees yet.

"Selection for membership in the academy is one of the most prestigious honors in the field of nursing," said Joanne Disch, Ph.D., president of the academy.

White, who received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing at VCU, is one of more than 1,800 nurse leaders in education, management, practice, policy and research nationwide that have earned the Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing distinction based on their contributions to nursing and health care. An award-winning author, teacher and leader in health administration and nursing, he has nearly 40 years of experience in health care organizations in clinical, administrative, governance and consulting capacities.

White's experience includes serving as a senior executive in marketing, operations and international health care consulting at Mercy Health Services and as the associate director of the master of health administration and master of science in health administration programs, and later as the director of the master of health administration program at VCU. He also served as the first Charles P. Cardwell, Jr., Professor of Health Administration, from 2006 - 2009. His years of supporting and guiding students led the VCU Master of Health Administration Class of 2013 to endow the Kenneth R. White Scholarship to benefit future graduate health administration students at VCU.

In addition to his health care and teaching accolades, White is a noted author of the textbook, “The Well-Managed Healthcare Organization,” 7th edition (with John Griffith), and numerous book chapters and scholarly publications focusing on management and leadership of high-performing health care organizations. At the 2012 American College of Healthcare Executive (ACHE) Congress in Chicago, White was awarded the James A. Hamilton Book of the Year Award for his book (with John Griffith), “Reaching Excellence in Healthcare Management.” His research also explores models for interprofessional education, palliative care delivery and the role of the advanced practice nurse in providing health care services to different patient populations.

A fellow and former member of the Board of Governors of ACHE, White is currently an acute care nurse practitioner student at the University of Virginia, set to graduate in 2013. He is also a visiting professor of the Luiss Guido Carli University in Rome, Italy, and the Swiss School of Public Health, in Lugano, Switzerland.

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