FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2017
CONTACT: Hope LaFreniere, hope.lafreniere@ttuhsc.edu
(806) 743-1466
School of Nursing Professor Receives Texas Leadership Award
Barbara Cherry, DNSc, R.N., was named the recipient of the Texas Organization of Nurse Executives (TONE) 2016 Excellence in Leadership Award. The award will be presented at the 2017 TONE Annual Conference on February 24 in Dallas.
The Excellence in Leadership Award is given to nursing executives who demonstrate the ability to relate and connect with nurses in innovative and effective ways. As a co-author of the book “Contemporary Nursing: Issues, Trends, and Management”, Cherry made substantive contributions to nursing by enriching the lives of thousands of new nurses with knowledge of the most current nursing and health care issues, including the International Organization of Medicine competencies of safety, quality, informatics, interprofessional practice and patient-centered care.
“Dr. Cherry takes great strides to ensure our students have the latest information at their disposal,” Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Nursing Dean Michael Evans, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN said. “She is a role model, not only to her students, but to her peers throughout the Texas Tech University System and the community. She sets up her students in a way that allows them to take on the challenges nursing leaders face in the 21st century.”
Cherry was appointed to the inaugural Texas Nurses Association Policy Council and continues to serve on the council as chair of the Workplace Advocacy Subcommittee while advising on policy initiatives for the 2017 legislative session. Cherry, along with Associate Professor and Division Director of Graduate Nursing Studies and Scholarship at Texas Christian University Kathy Baker, established the Texas Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program Directors consortium, which is focused on creating opportunities for DNP leadership and advanced practice registered nursing students to become involved in policy initiatives.
Cherry developed more than 150 leaders in nursing through the DNP program she leads at TTUHSC. She received honorary awards including University Distinguished Professor, the President’s Excellence in Interprofessional Teamwork Award and Teacher of the Year from the TTUHSC Student Government Association and serves as chair of the TTUHSC Quality Improvement Review Board.