News Releases
Two University of Maryland School of Nursing Faculty Members Receive UMB Founder's Week Awards
October 17, 2014
Award celebrates the achievements and successes of University students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
Baltimore, Md. – Two faculty members from the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) were among the recipients of Founder’s Week Awards from the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). Karen Kauffman, PhD, RN, CRNP, FAAN, associate professor and chair, Department of Family and Community Health, received the Public Servant of the Year Award, and Robin Newhouse, PhD ‘00, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, professor and chair, Department of Organizational Systems and Adult Health, was co-recipient of the Researcher of the Year, along with C. Daniel Mullins, PhD, chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.
Each year, UMB celebrates the achievements and successes of the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and philanthropic support, and pays tribute to its 200-plus-year history. As part of the celebration, awards are presented in four categories: Researcher of the Year, Public Servant of the Year, Teacher of the Year, and Entrepreneur of the Year.
Kauffman, who has devoted much of her career to fighting Alzheimer’s disease, started a private practice in 1999 to provide long-term care consultation for older adults, many dealing with dementia, and then served on a work group of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Assisted Living. Additionally, she has been published in national and international peer-reviewed journals on various topics, including Alzheimer’s disease; served on the National Board of the Alzheimer’s Association; chaired the 23rd Alzheimer’s Association Advocacy Forum; and chaired a panel to revise the national Alzheimer’s Association’s Statement of Ethics. She also serves on the board of the Greater Maryland Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Newhouse conducts comparative effectiveness research using multi-site studies to test health system interventions to improve care processes and patient incomes. She has published extensively on health services improvement interventions, acute care quality issues, and evidence-based practice, and is chair of the Methodology Committee of the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a committee she was appointed to by the U.S. Comptroller General. Newhouse is the only nurse serving on this prestigious 17-member committee.
In addition, in 2013, Newhouse was elected to the board of AcademyHealth, an interprofessional organization for health services researchers, and earlier this year, she was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame. She serves on two current Institute of Medicine committees.
“We are very pleased that multiple recipients of the Founder’s Week awards are from the School of Nursing. It is great that Dr. Kauffman and Dr. Newhouse are being celebrated University-wide for their countless contributions that have advanced the field of nursing,” said UMSON Dean Jane M. Kirschling, PhD, RN, FAAN. “Our School is extremely fortunate to have professors of their caliber. This recognition, among others, continues to demonstrate that we have top-rate faculty.”
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The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools, and is ranked eleventh nationally. Enrolling 1,700 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.