NSU Press Release

Nursing Dept. to Discuss Virginia’s Response to the Nursing Shortage and Health Disparities in Vulnerable Populations

Norfolk, Va.—As part of its year-long anniversary celebration of 50 Years of Caring for the Community, Norfolk State University’s Department of Nursing will host a Spring Dinner Lecture and Conference April 1-2.

The lectureship, Virginia’s Response to the Nursing Shortage, will be held Friday, April 1 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Scott-Dozier Dining Hall, which is located on the campus of Norfolk State University.  Rebecca Bowers-Lanier will deliver the keynote address.

Bowers-Lanier, an experienced nursing service supervisor, staff nurse, faculty member and nursing education program administrator, is currently employed as a legislative consultant at Macaulay & Burtch, PC in Richmond.  In this position, she lobbies for a variety of health-care advocacy organizations.  She also co-directs the Virginia Quality Healthcare Network and coordinates a national nursing workforce network.

Prior to moving to Richmond in July 2003, Bowers-Lanier served as Deputy Director of Colleagues in Caring:  Regional Collaboratives for Nursing Work Force Development, a national program funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and housed at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in Washington, DC.  The 6-year program facilitated the development of coalitions around nursing workforce issues in over 40 states.

She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s of public health from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a doctorate in higher education from The College of William & Mary in Virginia. 

The one-day conference, Reducing Health Disparities in Vulnerable Populations, will be held from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 2 at the Virginia Beach Higher Education Center, which is located at 1881 University Dr.  The Honorable Belle S. Wheelan, Virginia secretary of education, will serve as the opening keynote speaker.   She will discuss the Governor’s Healthy Virginians initiative. Appointed by Governor Mark Warner in 2001, Wheelan is the first African-American woman to serve in this capacity.

She holds memberships in numerous state and national organizations including the Presidents' Round Table of the National Council on Black American Affairs and the Jobs for Virginia Graduates Board.  She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Northern Virginia Family Services, American Heart Association, Tower Club, Virginia Economic Bridge, and Women’s Forum of D.C.

Wheelan received her bachelor of arts degree from Trinity University in Texas with a double major in psychology and sociology.  While at Trinity University, she distinguished herself as an Academic Scholar.  She was the first African American at Trinity University to be named to Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities.
 
The cost of the spring dinner lectureship and conference is $25 per event or $40 for attendees who register for both events. Continuing education contact hours can be earned for each session.  Proceeds from both events will benefit the NSU Nursing Scholarship Fund.