As part of the annual Case Western Reserve University Homecoming and Reunion tradition this month, the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing Alumni Association proudly recognized its most distinguished members.
The Distinguished Alumni Award is the nursing school alumni association's highest honor, and is bestowed on an alum who has demonstrated exemplary contributions in nursing or related areas of healthcare and consistently innovates to advance the nursing profession. The Alumni Award for Excellence recognizes an alum who has demonstrated outstanding leadership growth and has made significant contributions in nursing or related areas of healthcare.
2025 Distinguished Alumni Award
Patricia Sharpnack, DNP (NUR ’09), serves as dean and the Strawbridge Professor at Ursuline College’s Breen School of Nursing and Health Professions. She is also the immediate past chair of the National League for Nursing Board of Governors. Sharpnack has led professional nursing organizations at regional, national and international levels, including three terms as president of the Ohio Board of Nursing. She serves on editorial boards, reviews for several peer-reviewed journals and has published and presented widely. Sharpnack is a fellow of both the National League for Nursing Academy of Nurse Educators and the American Academy of Nursing. She also holds a post-graduate certificate in health policy and media engagement from George Washington University.
2025 Award for Excellence
Laura Rosenthal, DNP (NUR ’06), is a clinical professor and senior assistant dean of academic operations at University of Colorado College of Nursing. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Michigan, Master of Science in Nursing from Case Western Reserve University and her Doctor of Nursing Practice from University of Colorado. As an acute care nurse practitioner, she is deeply engaged in advocacy and health policy for the nursing profession. She served on the board of the Colorado Nurses Association for 10 years, as region director, vice president, president-elect and president. From 2018 to 2020, she was Colorado's state representative for the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Rosenthal was recently inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
