Summary of Katharine J. Densford Center Activities and Acccomplishments 2012-2020

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to summarize the activity of the Densford Center under the leadership of its third director, Daniel J Pesut, PhD, RN, FAAN, who served from 2012-2020. Detailed in this report is a brief history of the Densford Center followed by annual goals and accomplishments, which are supported by materials in the appendices. Established in 1997, the Katharine J. Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership was the nation’s first university-based center dedicated to improving health care worldwide through the development and promotion of nurses as leaders. The center is named after Katharine J. Densford, an internationally known leader and director of the School of Nursing from 1930 to 1959. Densford was an independent and visionary woman who changed the face of nursing in Minnesota and across the globe. She held offices in almost every nursing organization of the time and, more importantly, she was an agent for social change. Through her influence, the School of Nursing helped redefine how leadership could benefit patients, nursing, and health care. The center was created to perpetuate the legacy of this pioneering hero, and to assist nurses in addressing contemporary challenges in the same spirit as its namesake. Dr. Mary Jo Kreitzer was named the center’s first director, succeeded by Dr. Joanne Disch. Building on the work of the previous directors and grounded in the legacy of Katharine Densford, Dr. Pesut aspired to focus on the following goals and objectives • Convene communities of practice, learning and research regarding nursing leadership, foresight literacy, and interprofessional health professions education • Educate, coach, and build the competency and confidence of nurse leaders • Stimulate innovation in nursing and health care through the application and use of creative and design thinking principles • Communicate the value of nursing influence on policy, practices, and issues related to the greater public good regarding health and a care economy Appendix A is Dr. Pesut’s curriculum vitae documenting his faculty achievements through time including his tenure at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. Conference and continuing education Evaluation data of Densford center program offerings is contained in Appendix B. An aggregation of Densford Center News Columns appearing in the Minnesota Nurse Magazine is contained in Appendix C. A list of selected external sales, consulting and speaking engagements can be found in Appendix D. A list of The Florence Schorske Wald Scholars can be found in Appendix E. Documentation of additional social media and recent podcasts related to various topics is found in Appendix F. Acknowledgment and thanks to Ms. Midori Green for her assistance in collating and aggregating these materials into the document.