2003 News

CGFNS Announces Gloria R. Smith as the Recipient of the 2003 CGFNS International Distinguished Leadership Award

PHILADELPHIA, PA — JULY 17, 2003 — The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) is pleased to announce this year’s recipient of the CGFNS International Distinguished Leadership Award: Gloria R. Smith, Ph.D., RN, FAAN.

Dr. Smith represents the spirit of the CGFNS award, which recognizes and honors outstanding international, professional and personal achievement in the health care community. Events surrounding the award consist of a sponsored symposium in the leadership area of the recipient and a reception and tribute dinner following the symposium where Dr. Smith will be presented with a commemorative plaque for her dedication to the international health care community.

Dr. Smith is recognized nationally and internationally for her contributions to nursing, health care education, and public health initiatives. Before retiring in January 2002, Dr. Smith was the vice president for programs at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. During her employment at the Foundation, Dr. Smith was responsible for program development and administration as well as program/project evaluation and dissemination. She also provided leadership for the Foundation’s health programs to ensure the success of team efforts in this specific area of programming.

In recognition of her professional achievements and commitment to improving health, Dr. Smith was one of 60 new members elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1997.

An accomplished professor of nursing, health care, and public health for 28 years, the pinnacle of Dr. Smith’s career as an educator was her tenure as the Dean of the College of Nursing at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Previously, she was director of the Michigan Department of Public Health, Lansing, a member of the faculties of Tuskegee University in Alabama, and Albany State College in Georgia, and Dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City.

Dr. Smith has also published numerous articles and participated in several research studies involving nursing, public health education, and cultural diversity.

Dr. Smith will be presented with the 2003 CGFNS International Distinguished Leadership Award on December 3, 2003, in Philadelphia, PA, USA.

For more information about the CGFNS International Distinguished Leadership Award, log on to the CGFNS web site at www.cgfns.org.

CGFNS is an immigration-neutral, nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia, PA, USA, and is an internationally recognized authority on education, registration and licensure of nurses and health care professionals worldwide. CGFNS’s mission is to provide responsible leadership in the delivery of relevant services to the global nursing and health care community. The organization was founded in 1977 through a collaborative effort by representatives from the U.S. Department of Labor; Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now the Department of Health and Human Services); the Immigration and Naturalization Service; and representation from nursing organizations, including the American Nurses Association and the National League for Nursing.

For additional information about CGFNS and its services, contact: Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools, 3600 Market Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2651 USA; telephone: (215) 222-8454.