Elizabeth Kemble Alumni Awards
The Elizabeth Kemble Nursing Alumni Award, one of the highest honors bestowed by the College of Nursing, recognizes the college's notable alumni achievements in research, practice and leadership.
Elizabeth Kemble Alumni Awards | 2023 Recipients
Nominate a Nursing Alumna/Alumnus
Do you know a nursing alumna/alumnus who has gone above and beyond in nursing research, practice or leadership? Nominate them for the Elizabeth Kemble Alumni Nursing Award by January 31, 2027.
Honorees will be celebrated during the college's annual Pinning Ceremony.
2026 Honorees
Jonathan Colvin, MS, RN, CSPI, CCRP serves as the Managing Director of the Cincinnati Children’s Drug & Poison Information Center (DPIC), which provides 24/7 toxicology expertise and triage support across the state of Ohio. As a registered nurse with deep experience in emergency response planning, patient safety, and injury prevention, he has led the development of parallel programs in occupational health, regional preparedness, and nurse triage that strengthens care across the region.
Colvin is committed to systems improvement and advancing the role of nursing. He maintains professional certification in toxicology, clinical research, and quality improvement science, and is recognized for building collaborative, data‑driven solutions that improve outcomes for patients, families, and frontline clinicians.
Sharon Hull, MSN-Ed, RN, CBIS is a Neurotrauma Nurse Navigator at UC Health, where she coordinates care for patients with traumatic brain injuries and supports families through recovery. She has a strong clinical background with experience as a trauma nurse in the emergency department at UC Health and in the pediatric intensive care unit at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Hull is a board member of the Brain Injury Association of Ohio and is completing her Master of Science in Nursing Education, graduating Spring 2026. She is passionate about improving patient outcomes, advancing nursing education, and developing simulation-based training to strengthen clinical decision-making. Hull is committed to compassionate care, innovation, and serving as a role model in nursing practice.
Previous Honorees
- Latrice Behanan '04, '15
- DeAnna Hawkins '01, '03
- Tracey Yap '08
- Gail Bagwell '90
- Felicia Beckham, '08, '14
- Myrna Little, '98, '19
- Becky Miars '71
- Kathy Oliphant '12
- Deasa Dorsey '10
- Leslie Evers '71, '75
- Tammy Lockhart '16
- Susan Newell '21
- Lu Ann Reed '96, '19
- Ashlie Cramer '10
- Heather Eckstein '12
- Rachel Smith-Steinert '01, '07, '16
Who was Elizabeth Kemble?
Elizabeth Kemble and students
As the founding dean of the UNC School of Nursing, UC alumni, and a Nursing trailblazer, Elizabeth Kemble dedicated her life to serving others. “There is no such thing as a menial task in caring for a human being,” Kemble once said.
After earning her nursing diploma in 1927 from UC, she earned a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nursing education by 1948, a feat unheard of for a woman of her day.
At North Carolina, Kemble was given one year to hire faculty, develop a curriculum, oversee construction of the school of nursing building and dorms, find additional scholarship funding and recruit high school seniors to start the following fall. Her first class, in 1951, was made up of 27 women, a big deal for North Carolina which had only admitted female students as transfer students up to that point.
By the time the school celebrated its 10th anniversary, Kemble had guided it through the accreditation process for the bachelor’s and master’s programs and enrollment had increased to 235 students.
Kemble’s work caught the eye of the U.S. Air Force, which brought her on as the national consultant to the surgeon general in 1959. She became the first professional nurse to be ranked a brigadier general.
For questions, please reach out to Megan Buchheit, program director for alumni engagement.