Catherine L. Gilliss, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean of the UCSF School of Nursing, is being honored with the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF).
The award recognizes individuals who are visionaries and advocates in successfully developing and promoting the role of the nurse practitioner. It will be presented at the NONPF's 45th Annual Conference from April 4-7 in Atlanta, GA.
In its Jan. 22 announcement of this year's Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, the NONPF noted that Gilliss "has devoted a lifetime to nursing education and the development of NP faculty. NONPF would like to express its thanks to Dr. Gilliss for all of her many years of support and wisdom."
An involved leader in professional organizations and community boards, Gilliss served as president of the NONPF from 1995 to 1996. She was also president of the American Academy of Nursing (2009-2011), president of the board of the North Carolina Foundation for Nursing (2016-2017), and a regent of the University of Portland (1994-2000).
Prepared in the discipline of nursing, she has led Yale and Duke University’s Schools of Nursing in the capacity of dean and vice chancellor, respectively. Under her leadership, both schools expanded the size and quality of the faculty, the staff, the student body and the quality of the academic programs. At Duke, she led an unprecedented expansion of programs and facilities, including a modern headquarters building, ultimately leading to Duke’s ranking as U.S. News & World Report’s top U.S. Graduate School in Nursing.
Gilliss’ scientific career has addressed family dynamics and chronic illness. A pioneer in the field, she was recognized with the 2007 Distinguished Contributions to Family Nursing Research Award. Her groundbreaking book, Toward a Science of Family Nursing, was co-edited with UCSF colleagues and was the first compendium of scientific information to explore how chronic illness affected the family, and vice-versa, and to suggest nursing interventions to promote the health of both patient and family.
She has been honored by Yale University (honorary MA; Yale School of Nursing Medal); the University of Portland (honorary DHL); UCSF (Distinguished Alumna, School of Nursing); and Duke University (Distinguished Alumna, School of Nursing; Duke University’s highest honor - the Distinguished Service Award). She was a fellow in the inaugural class of Stanford University’s Distinguished Careers Institute.
A BSN graduate of Duke University, Gilliss earned her MSN in psychiatric mental-health nursing at The Catholic University of America, a post-masters certificate in primary care at the University of Rochester, and her PhD at UCSF where she was also a post-doctoral University of California President’s Fellow. She was chair of the UCSF School of Nursing's Department of Family Health Nursing from 1993 to 1998.