NYU Meyers hosts 26th annual Estelle Osborne Legacy Celebration

NYU Meyers to announce the Vernice D. Ferguson Professorship in Health Equity at the celebration; Ferguson worked tirelessly for health equity and diversity, pioneering leadership positions for nurses in practice and education

For the 26th year, New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing (NYU Meyers) will host its annual event celebrating the legacy of Estelle Massey Osborne (1901-1981). This annual event celebrates Osborne, a black nurse leader who was a pioneer in organizational administration, and the first black professor in what is now NYU Meyers.

The event will take place on Wednesday, February 22, 2017 from 3:00-5:00pm at the Rosenthal Pavilion in the NYU Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South, NYC. Those wishing to attend, please RSVP HERE.

This year’s honoree is NYU Meyers’ Clinical Associate Professor Jamesetta A. Newland.  Also at this year’s celebration, NYU Meyers is delighted to announce the founding of the Vernice D. Ferguson Professorship in Health Equity. 

Osborne was the first black nurse in the U.S. to obtain a master's degree.  She worked tirelessly to eliminate discrimination in the professional nursing organizations in this country and in society as a whole. The Estelle Osborne award honors a distinguished alumni or faculty member whose professional career embodies the true spirit of Osborne’s legacy.

This celebration would not be possible without the unwavering effort and dedication of its founders over 25 years ago: alumni Gloria Chandler Ramsey, BS ’83, MA ’87, Phyllis Lisanti, PhD `87, and late former division head Diane McGivern.

About the Honoree:

Dr. Jamesetta Newland is a strong proponent of faculty practice and has extensive experience with nurse managed health centers. She maintains an active primary care practice as a family nurse practitioner at NYU Langone Ambulatory Care West Side.

Dr. Newland’s teaching experience spans 23 years with graduate students; she believes in lifelong learning for adults and encourages students to achieve beyond their own expectations. Her expertise on nurse practitioner education and practice has been sought internationally in Botswana, Japan, and Lithuania.

Dr. Newland is active in numerous professional organizations and is the current editor-in-chief of The Nurse Practitioner and a column editor for the newsletter of the Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

About Estelle Massey Osborne (1901 – 1981)

Estelle Massey Osborne was an outstanding leader who made tremendous gains in the profession of nursing for black nurses. She was the first black nurse to receive a master’s degree in nursing, awarded by Teachers College at Columbia University, in 1931.

She was the first black nurse to be elected to the Board of Directors of the American Nurses Association and the American Journal of Nursing. She was a member of the National Urban League and the first vice president of the National Council of Negro Women.

After graduating from Teacher’s College, Osborne was promptly appointed Educational Director at the Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. (currently Howard University School of Nursing). She served five successive years as president of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN), an association established to promote professionalization, education, and practice opportunities for black nurses throughout the country.

In 1942, during World War II, Osborne was hired as a consultant to the National Nursing Council for War Service. As the first black appointee, she was responsible for working with politicians and other professional organizations to change discriminatory policies, practices, and customs in white nurse training schools and the armed services.

With the ending of the war, Osborne concentrated on opening doors to higher education for black nurses. In 1946 she joined NYU, becoming the first black faculty member in what is now the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. In her eight years at NYU, her leadership position on campus provided her the opportunity to mentor and positively impact the lives and careers of numerous black students and nurses.

About the emcee: Carl Kirton

Carl A. Kirton, MA ’92, DNP, MBA, RN, ANP, is chief nursing officer at University Hospital in Newark, NJ, where he oversees all in-patient nursing operations. He served as deputy executive director and chief nursing officer at Lincoln Hospital and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, and as senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at North General Hospital in New York City.

Dr. Kirton’s area of expertise and special interest is the care of HIV/AIDS patients. He is an AIDS Certified Registered Nurse (ACRN). He served as president of the National Association of Nurses in AIDS Care and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. He has received numerous awards for his work in HIV/AIDS and is a highly sought-after national speaker on HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, treatment and patient care. An active HIV/AIDS researcher, Dr. Kirton has been widely published in a number of peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Kirton earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Lehman College, a Master of Science in Nursing from NYU, a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Case Western Reserve University, and a Masters of Business Administration from St. Peter’s University.

About the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing

NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing is a global leader in nursing education, research, and practice. It offers a Bachelor of Science with a major in Nursing, a Master of Science and Post-Master’s Certificate Programs, a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and a Doctor of Philosophy in nursing research and theory development.

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