Gadsden State President inducted into the American Academy of Nursing
Gadsden, Ala. — Dr. Martha Lavender, the president of Gadsden State Community College, is one of four Alabama women inducted into the 2015 Class of Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing. The induction took place Oct. 17 in Washington D.C.
“We are pleased to induct this talented class of clinicians, researchers, policy leaders, educators and executives as they join the nation’s thought leaders in nursing and healthcare,” said Academy President Dr. Diana J. Mason. “We look forward to working with them to continue the Academy’s work in transforming healthy policy and practice through the use of our collective nursing knowledge.”
Lavender has a long history of success in the nursing field. Lavender once served as the dean of Health Sciences at Gadsden State and also held administrative and faculty positions with the Lurleen B. Wallace College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Jacksonville State University. She served as a visiting professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing, and she has worked in administrative posts with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Anniston.
A product of the state’s two-year college system, Lavender received her Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) from the former Gadsden State Junior College School of Nursing. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Jacksonville State University and a Master of Science in Nursing and doctorate degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing.
Lavender served as the president of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nursing, an organization that has also recognized her with its highest honor, the Distinguished Professional Service Award. She has served as the president of the Alabama Board of Nursing and has also worked with the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission and the Alabama Regional Action Coalition.
“Being inducted into the American Academy of Nursing’s Class of Fellows is one of my proudest professional achievements,” she said. “I look forward to contributing to and providing leadership for the Academy’s national strategy to advance health policy, strengthen nursing leadership, and expand nursing’s influence in decisions made at local, state and national levels to influence policy development designed to improve health care delivery to all citizens.”
Other Alabama inductees joining Lavender in the 2015 Class of Fellows are Karen Heaton, Susan Bonner Patton and Linda Ann Roussel, all from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Photo ID: Bobbie Berkowitz, PhD, RN, NEA, FAAN President and Dr. Martha Lavender.