Following What Matters Kenneth R. White, PhD, APRN-BC, FACHE, FADLN, FAAN

Zula Mae Baber Bice Memorial Lecture
Kenneth R. White, PhD, APRN-BC, FACHE, FADLN, FAAN
Dean Emeritus, MGH Institute of Health Professions School of Nursing
UVA Health Professor of Nursing Emeritus, University of Virginia
Professor of Health Administration Emeritus, Virginia Commonwealth University
This one-hour educational session is a combination of didactic presentation and audience participation to reflect on ways that nurses, physicians, educators, and all care team members may reconnect with the joy of our special work using a framework on “mattering”. The overall aim is to inspire, motivate, and celebrate what matters and to present examples and stories of how each person can make a difference. Recommendations will be offered for how to return to “touchstones” that may rejuvenate in particularly challenging times.
Dr. Ken White serves as Dean Emeritus of the School of Nursing at the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston. Prior to joining the IHP, Dr. White served as the Associate Dean for Strategic Partnerships in the School of Nursing and Endowed Professor of Nursing at the University of Virginia (UVA). Previous to his time at UVA, Dr. White served as the Sentara Professor and directed the graduate programs in health administration at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) for twenty years. Dr. White holds Emeritus Professor appointments at both VCU and UVA.
He has completed visiting professorships at the Luiss Business School in Rome and at the Swiss School of Public Health. He also has completed consultancies in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Guam, Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.
Earlier in his career, Dr. White was an executive with the Mercy Health System, an international provider of health care, where he led the civilian hospital in Guam and served in various administrative roles with Mercy Health Center in Oklahoma City.
Dr. White is a Fellow in both the American Academy of Nursing and the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). From 2021 to 2023, Dr. White served as the President of the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. White has been honored with ACHE’s Gold Medal Award (2019), VCU School of Nursing’s Outstanding Alumnus Award (2021), VCU College of Health Professions Lifetime Service and Achievement Award (2023), and The DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award (2024). Also in 2024, Dr. White was named a Luminary Fellow (of the Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing (FADLN) by the National Black Nurses Association.
Medical Center Hour is free of charge and open to the public. For more information, see Center for Health Humanities and Ethics: https://med.virginia.edu/biomedical-e...