May 7, 2004 | Much is expected of Bonnie Gance-Cleveland, Ph.D., R.N.C., P.N.P., B.C., but she’s used to coming through for those in need. Especially when its young people dealing with a drug-addicted parent, obesity or violence.

As the recipient of the newly created John Boyd Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Nursing, Gance-Cleveland is making history as the first chair of nursing not just at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, but in all of Arkansas.

Gance-Cleveland hopes to use her research to build more of an evidence base for nursing in Arkansas, as opposed to nursing practices based on tradition. She said there is already lots of research being done, but it is underused. It takes 17 years for research to get put into practice, she said.

At the investiture ceremony Monday, May 3, Linda Hodges, Ed.D., R.N., dean of UAMS’ College of Nursing said Gance-Cleveland is known for “turning a hurting and troubled child’s world into a safer, happier place.”

The new chair’s close friend and mentor, Roxie Foster, associate professor at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, said those holding endowed chairs “are expected to be more and know more than is sometimes humanly possible.”

Such leaders must have clinical expertise, be excellent teachers and have interdisciplinary collaborative skills, Foster said. They require vision, passion and the courage to be an agent for change. But Arkansans need not worry about the selection of Gance-Cleveland to fulfill these steep responsibilities.

“Her skills are legendary,” Foster said.

Gance-Cleveland moved to Arkansas in January from Denver, where she was an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. That’s where she received bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in nursing.  She also conducted numerous research projects there related to school-based health programs, family functioning, the impact of chemically dependent parents on children and children with asthma.

In Arkansas, Gance-Cleveland is an associate professor of nursing at UAMS’ College of Nursing and director of nursing research at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. The chair is through the generosity of a family from the tiny town of Fountain Hill, population 159.

John Boyd was a World War II veteran who began clerking in the general store in Fountain Hill. He and his wife, Monitte, eventually bought the store, then gradually added parcels of timberland until at his death in 1986, the family owned more than 3,500 acres.

The Boyds had two daughters: Caroline, who was developmentally disabled and died in 1985, and Mary Ann, who became a registered nurse. She died in November 2001 and honored her father’s wishes to bequest the remainder of his estate to three nonprofit organizations, including Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

The hospital used some of that money -- $ 1 million – to fund the endowed chair in pediatric nursing through its association with UAMS.

“A chair is the highest honor a teaching hospital can bestow,” said Christie Berner, M.S.N., R.N., senior vice president of patient care services for ACH told those gathered at the hospital for the investiture.

Nursing research will enhance the relationship between UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Berner said, adding that Gance-Cleveland “will be the catalyst we need to bring the practice of nursing to a higher level.”

With tears in her eyes, Gance-Cleveland thanked her husband, Mark, for being supportive, even though it has taken her away from him and her two sons, Mark II, 19, and Bobby, 16. She recalled that when she told her husband about the job offer, he said, “I don’t want you to move to Arkansas, and I think you should.”

Her family remains in Colorado while Bobby finishes high school. She sees them most weekends. Gance-Cleveland said aside from the separation, she has enjoyed her new job, especially “the people who are so friendly and excited about developing this role.”

An endowed chair devoted to nursing research is “very visionary. They really see the way nursing needs to move,” she said.

UAMS Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson, M.D., said endowed chairs are meant to serve in perpetuity and allow schools to recruit, retain and honor distinguished faculty. The endowment income pays the chair's salary and funds her programs and research projects.

Hodges said there are 2,800 professional nurses in Arkansas. “We will be forever honored and we will respect this gift,” Hodges said.

The tradition of endowed chairs and endowed professorships in higher education is steeped in history. The first named chair was established in England in 1502, when Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of the Earl of Richmond (by then Henry VII) donated the Lady Margaret Professorship of Divinity to Cambridge.

Today, almost five centuries later, her gift still supports a continuous line of distinguished scholars - the Margaret Professors. English settlers introduced the practice to America. The first endowed chair in America was established at Harvard University fifty years before the American Revolution. That institution now has over 200 chairs. A single gift or a group of designated gifts totaling $1 million or more creates an endowed chair at UAMS.

Links on This Page

http://nursing.uams.edu/

http://pediatrics.ach.uams.edu/

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