Dr. Cathleen Shultz, dean of the Carr College of Nursing at Harding University, will be among 32 distinguished nurse educators to join the National League for Nursing’s Academy of Nursing Education. She will be inducted as a fellow at the 2012 NLN Education Summit this September in Anaheim, Calif.

Shultz has been a member of the Harding faculty since 1976, when she was recruited to help establish the nursing program. In 1977, she became head of the department, and was appointed dean of the Carr College of Nursing in 1980. Shultz has previously served as president of the Arkansas State Board of Nursing and Arkansas Nurses Association.

According to the NLN, the 2012 fellows and honorary fellows combined will bring the academy’s total to 154 leaders in nursing education. They will be honored as the sixth class of fellows since the academy’s establishment in 2007, and will be recognized at a ceremony and banquet held on Friday, Sept. 21.

Shultz received her first honor on the national level when she was inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 1992. In 2005, she became the first Arkansan to be elected to the NLN Board of Governors, serving as treasurer. After two years as president-elect, Shultz served as president of NLN from 2009-2011.

Established in 1893, the NLN is the oldest professional association for nursing education. This organization includes 28,000 individual members and 1,200 institutional members. Fellows are expected to provide visionary leadership in nursing education and in the Academy, and to support the vision of the NLN.

With an enrollment of more than 7,100 students, Harding is the largest private university in Arkansas and attracts more National Merit Scholars than any other private university in the state. Harding also maintains campuses in Australia, Chile, England, France, Greece, Italy and Zambia. For more information visit www.harding.edu.