On Monday May 10, 2010 at 11am, 455 students will graduate from The New York University College of Nursing at the New Amsterdam Theatre (214 West 42nd Street). Dr. Donna Shalala, President of the University of Miami and former Secretary of Health and Human Services, will address the graduating class and receive the Helen Manzer Award for her exemplary leadership for the health of the nation.
Former Secretary of Health and Human Services to Receive Helen Manzer Award
On Monday May 10, 2010 at 11am, 455 students will graduate from The New York University College of Nursing at the New Amsterdam Theatre (214 West 42nd Street). Dr. Donna Shalala, President of the University of Miami and former Secretary of Health and Human Services, will address the graduating class and receive the Helen Manzer Award for her exemplary leadership for the health of the nation. This year, 281 students will graduate from the College of Nursing with a bachelor’s degree, 165 students with a Masters Degree, seven students with advanced certificates and two students with a PhD.
“I’m so proud of this year’s extraordinary graduating class and our inspiring award recipients,” says Dean Terry Fulmer, NYU College of Nursing. “We are thrilled to have Dr. Donna Shalala, a distinguished speaker and well respected figure in the medical community, at our ceremony. She will no doubt serve as an invaluable role model to the 2010 graduating class.”
The College of Nursing is pleased to be presenting the following awards:
- The Helen Manzer Award to Donna E. Shalala, PhD.
- The Distinguished Alumna Award to Vernice Ferguson.
- The Distinguished Clinician Award for Contributions to the Clinical Enterprise to Wilhelmina M. Manzano, MA, RN, CNNA, BC.
- The Humanitarian Award to Donald and Barbara Jonas.
Dr. Donna Shalala has more than 25 years of experience as an accomplished scholar, teacher, and administrator. Dr. Shalala has over than three dozen honorary degrees and a host of other honors including the 1992 National Public Service Award, the 1994 Glamour magazine Woman of the Year Award. In 2005 she was named one of “America’s Best Leaders” by U.S. News & World Report and the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She is a leading scholar on the political economy of state and local governments she has also held tenured professorships at Columbia University, the City University of New York (CUNY), and the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Previously, she served as President of Hunter College of the City University of New York and Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1993 President Clinton appointed her U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) where she served for eight years. In June 2008, President Bush presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, at a ceremony in the White House.
Recipient of the Distinguished Alumna Award, Vernice Ferguson, is a graduate of the NYU College of Nursing and co-author of Conversations with Leaders: Frank Talk from Nurses on the Front Lines of Leadership. For more than twenty years Vernice Ferguson served as a top nurse executive in federal service and was the Chief Nurse at two VA Medical Centers affiliated with academic health science. She also served as the nurse leader for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the largest organized nursing service in the world with more than 60,000 nursing personnel.
Wilhelmina M. Manzano, MA, RN, CNNA, BC, recipient of the Distinguished Clinician Award for Contributions to the Clinical Enterprise, is Senior Vice President & CNO for NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and HealthCare System, and responsible for providing nursing leadership throughout the organization to ensure promote innovation and excellence in nursing practice. Ms. Manzano held leadership positions at several New York area hospitals including The Mount Sinai Medical Center, Lawrence Hospital and Beth Israel Medical Center. She is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and a member of various professional organizations.
Donald and Barbara Jonas are long time philanthropists in the NYC community and recipients of the Humanitarian Award. In 2005, the couple donated fifteen pieces of art for auction to the Jewish Communal Fund. Forty-four million dollars from sale of that art established the Barbara and Donald Jonas Family Fund. The Jonas Family Fund focuses their philanthropic giving on nursing, their major focus, as well as on mental health and at-risk youth and families. Donald and Barbara Jonas are currently advisors to the Barbara and Donald Jonas Family Fund and Co-Chair of the Advisory Board to the Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence.
New York University College of Nursing
The College of Nursing is one of the leading nursing programs in the United States. It offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing; Master of Arts and Post-Master’s Certificate Programs; a Doctor of Philosophy in Research Theory and Development, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.