UK CON inducts 2020 Hall of Fame class

The University of Kentucky College of Nursing is proud to welcome its 4th Hall of Fame of Class, joining an exemplary group of distinguished and highly-accomplished UK CON alumni.  

Established in 2006, the Hall of Fame is the College of Nursing’s highest honor. It was created to recognize and honor graduates with extraordinary national and/or international contributions to advance the nursing profession through education, practice, service, and/or research. While a new Hall of Fame class is typically inducted every five years, the College was excited to induct a mid-cycle class in honor of 2020 being designated the “Year of the Nurse and Midwife” by the World Health Organization and the American Nurses Association.

The 2020 Hall of Fame class was officially inducted during the College of Nursing's virtual 2020 Celebration of Alumni Stars held online Sept. 10.  The event also honored the Dean's Puma Award for Alumni Excellence recipients and the CON Fabulous Five – the first African-American graduates in each of the college’s degree programs. 

View the 2020 Celebration of Alumni Stars

2020 Hall of Fame Honorees 

• Dr. Susan M. Adams, PhD, PMHNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN
• Dr. Patricia B. Howard, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
• Dr. Patricia K. Howard, PhD, RN, CEN, CPEN, NE-BC, FAEN, FAAN
• Dr. Karen L. Johnson, PhD, RN, FAAN
• Dr. Karen R. Robinson, PhD, RN, DPNAP, FAAN

View a complete list of CON Hall of Fame inductees 

Dr. Susan M. Adams, PhD, PMHNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN

(PhD 2007)

Dr. Susan M. Adams, PhD, PMHNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, received her BSN (1972) from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana, her MSN (1977) from the University of California in San Francisco, California, her PMHNP Adult, Lifespan Post-Masters Certificates (2001, 2011) from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and her PhD (2007) from the University of Kentucky College of Nursing.

Dr. Adams is a professor and Faculty Scholar for Community Engaged Behavioral Health at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Adams has been recognized as a national and international leader in psychiatric health nursing as an educator, researcher and administrator. She was recently awarded “Nurse of the Year” by the American Psychiatric Nurses Association where she served as President (2014-15) and Board of Directors (2011-16). Her current research areas include trauma-informed intervention strategies to reduce alcohol and drug-related problems for individuals and families through professional education and integrated models of primary care and behavioral health care delivery.

“Dr. Susie Adams is a recognized national and international leader for her vision, drive and passion to advance psychiatric-mental health nursing. She has influenced the visibility of psychiatric nursing by advancing health policy and improving access to mental health care through innovative PMHNP education, practice and collaborative initiatives. She is a champion for the integration of mental health services within primary care settings recognizing that individuals and families find this a less stigmatizing setting to access care.”  - Dr. Betsy Weiner, nominator 

Dr. Patricia B. Howard, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN 

(MSN 1980, PhD 1992)

Dr. Patricia B. Howard, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, received her BSN (1979) from the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, and her MSN (1980) and PhD (1992) from the University of Kentucky College of Nursing. 

Dr. Howard is currently Executive Associate Dean for the UK College of Nursing-Norton Healthcare (NHC) Academic-Practice Partnership and serves as a consultant at NHC on nursing education and research. Dr. Howard is recognized for her ongoing leadership in the development of the UK College of Nursing’s DNP program, the first in the nation. From 2012-2014 she served as the interim Dean for UK College of Nursing.

She is also a nationally recognized expert in the areas of mental health evaluation research, advancing mental health nursing and health policy through clinical translational research based on her early program of research with the Kentucky Department of Mental Health about treatment and satisfaction with services for the severe mentally ill.

“In her role as interim dean, Dr. Howard was not content to simply keep the college on an even path during the search for a new dean. Instead, she took bold, visionary steps to move the college forward. Most notably, she then led the College of Nursing in developing the winning proposal for an educational partnership with Norton Healthcare of Louisville, KY to prepare their nurses at the advanced practice level. She has worked tirelessly to implement visionary initiatives that have raised the national profile of the College of Nursing and made major impacts on the profession of nursing.” – Dr. Terry Lennie, nominator 

Dr. Patricia K. Howard, PhD, RN, CEN, CPEN, NE-BC, FAEN, FAAN

(BSN 1983, MSN 1990, PhD 2004)

Dr. Patricia K. Howard, PhD, RN, CEN, CPEN, NE-BC, FAEN, FAAN, received her ADN (1978) from Salem College in Salem, West Virginia, and her BSN (1983), MSN (1990) and PhD (2004) from the University of Kentucky College of Nursing. 

Dr. Howard is the Enterprise Director of Emergency Services for UK HealthCare. Her research interests include pain, family presence and injury prevention initiatives. Dr. Howard has served on several national committees including the Emergency Nurses Association Board (ENA) of Directors. She is currently the immediate Past-President of the ENA. Dr. Howard has published extensively, authoring papers in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Emergency Nursing, Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal and Journal of Nursing Education and Practice. 

“Dr. Howard is a consummate, albeit humble, nurse leader, nurse and healthcare clinician advocate, educator, researcher, and policy influencer. She repeatedly crafted a compelling vision for areas of responsibility, led key initiatives, launched policy, overcame diverse challenges, inspired others to act with confidence, and achieved goals through united efforts. Her distinctive achievements and contributions demonstrate a distinguished career and epitomizes the essence of those selected for the UK CON Hall of Fame.” – Dr. Marla De Jong, nominator 

Dr. Karen L. Johnson, PhD, RN, FAAN

(PhD 1999)

Dr. Karen L. Johnson, PhD, RN, FAAN, received her BSN (1980) from Niagara University in Niagara Falls, New York, her MSN (1986) from the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, and her PhD (1999) from the University of Kentucky College of Nursing. 

Dr. Johnson is currently the Director of Nursing Research at Banner Health, one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the country, where she empowers clinical nursing staff to initiate change to improve health and health systems outcomes for acute and critically ill populations. 

Dr. Johnson is a prolific scholar and has been the primary author for top-tier journal articles including Journal of Nursing Administration, American Journal of Critical Care, and High Acuity Nursing. She currently serves on the Editorial Board for Critical Care Nurse and is an active member of Friends of the National Institute for Nursing Research, the Council to Advance Nursing Science and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, where she served on the Board of Directors. 

“Dr. Johnson is extremely hard working and approaches most complex problems with a careful, thorough knowledge base and strategic approach… Karen has always been thoughtful and stands by her core values whether conflict emerges in her clinical work, her academic work or in education. I cannot overstate her ability to work with nurse leaders and all interdisciplinary partners regardless of the level in the organization-from front line, at the sharpest edge of clinical care delivery up to the highest executive level team." -Dr. Colleen Swartz, nominator 

Dr. Karen R. Robinson, PhD, RN, FAAN

(BSN 1977)

Dr. Karen R. Robinson, PhD, RN, FAAN, received her BSN (1977) from the University of Kentucky College of Nursing, her MSN (1982) from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas, and her PhD (1992) from the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. 

Dr. Robinson retired from the Department of Veterans Affairs after 32 years of service. She currently serves as a Research Consultant at Sanford Health Medical Center and a Clinical Quality Analyst at Essentia Health Medical Center in Fargo, North Dakota. Her former research included the development of the Robinson Self-Appraisal Inventory which has received national and international recognition. As the Associate Director for Patient Care at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical she served as a Project Coordinator for nurse-managed clinics in the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

She has also testified to the U.S. Senate Veterans Affairs Committee regarding the success of advanced practice nurses in these clinics as well as provided a final report to Congress which evaluated patient satisfaction, provider experiences, cost of care, and access to care in the clinics.

“Karen has been dedicated to advancing her profession as an extraordinary clinician, scholar, researcher, leader, and promoter of colleagues. Her dedication and passion for research and advancement of nursing science with the development of the Robinson Self-Appraisal Inventory have received national and intentional acclaim.   She is hard-working and extraordinarily productive and her contributions for advancing nurses in the Department of Veterans Affairs are highly valued by organizations and colleagues.” - Dr. Hurdis Griffith, nominator