Associate Professor, Alum, Honored at Kentucky Nurses Association Annual Summit
Lovoria Williams, PhD, FNP-BC, FAANP, associate professor, and Eva Stone, DNP, APRN, 2019 DNP alum, were honored at the Kentucky Nurses Association Annual Summit on Friday, October 25.
Lovoria Williams - Nurse Researcher of the Year
Dr. Lovoria B. Williams recently joined the College of Nursing. Prior to joining the University of Kentucky, she was a tenured- associate professor and Director of Diversity in the College of Nursing Augusta University (formerly Georgia Regents University and the Medical College of Georgia) Augusta, Georgia. She received a PhD in nursing from Georgia Regents University in 2011. Dr. Williams’ dissertation examined diabetes predictors among African-Americans in a faith-based setting. Her research focuses on delivering interventions to reduce health disparities among minority and medically-underserved populations. She utilizes community based participatory research methods to deliver behavioral interventions aimed to increase tobacco cessation and cancer screening behaviors and to reduce obesity and diabetes. She is nationally-recognized for developing culturally-adapted interventions for implementation by community health workers. Her work has been funded by the Georgia Department of Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented nationally and internationally.
As an active clinician serving the veteran, homeless and nicotine dependent patients, Dr. Williams adeptly integrates student teaching and research into her family nurse practitioner role. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors such as Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, Phi Kappa Phi, Excellence in Research and Outstanding Published Writing. She is a member of multiple professional organizations such as the National Black Nurses Association, The Obesity Society and the Southern Nursing Research Society where she serves on the Board of Directors.
Eva Stone - Nurse of the Year Award
Dr. Eva Stone graduated with her DNP from the UK College of Nursing in May 2019. Today she is the health coordinator for Jefferson County Public Schools, a position she describes as ideal because she firmly believes education, prevention and early intervention are keys to better long-term health.
As a DNP student, she was selected to attend the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Student Policy Summit in Washington, D.C., to advocate for funding for nursing education and research. She has since worked with state legislators and has presented to several committees on access to funding and the need for expanded school health services. As a result of her work and others’, Kentucky passed Senate Bill 1, which calls for an increased presence of mental health professionals and/or psych-mental health nurses. By next year, she hopes legislation will pass requiring a nurse in every school.
