Founder's Circle

Marian Shaughnessy’s vision for an academy to prepare nurse leaders was born of her own experience as a nurse, which spanned bedside to the boardroom. She saw that nurses were in positions to make change but often not empowered or prepared to make that change.

Marian developed the idea of a nurse leadership academy while completing her Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University. Thanks to her vision and the generous support of $5 Million from her and husband, Mike, Marian’s dream became a reality. And since her passing in February 2020, many are working hard to continue Marian’s critical work for keeping nurse leaders at the center for health transformation.

We welcome your participation in the Academy’s exciting initiative: the Founders Circle Leadership Lecture Series program. This elite group helps to shape the goals and priorities for the lectureship series (includes CE opportunities) and provides for incredible mentoring engagement among professional colleagues/peers.

To date, we have more than 50 members, and we wanted to make sure you, too, were aware of the opportunity to engage! To join the Founders Circle, we are asking for a pledge commitment of $10,000, which can be fulfilled over a 5-year period (annual payments of $2,000 or quarterly payments of $500). For more information, please contact Nancy Hovan, director of development at nxh305@case.edu. Thank you for your consideration to become officially recognized as a member of this select, leadership group.


Lecture Series

The Founder’s Circle is a Leadership Lecture Series program which meets monthly, both virtual and in-person. This leadership group helps to shape the goals and priorities for the lectureship series and provides for incredible mentoring engagement among professional colleagues and peers alike. The series aims to expand the knowledge-base and expertise of the school's graduates and students through exposure to nationally and globally recognized leaders.

The benefits of joining the Founder’s Circle include:

  • Earn Continuing Education (CE) credits
  • Expand your network nationally and globally with nursing leaders
  • Help to elevate the stature and influence of nurses in the healthcare field

Recent lectures included the likes of:

  • "Politics of Regulation" with Patricia Sharpnack
  • "The How To’s of Publishing Books & Articles" featuring Joyce Fitzpatrick & Rosanne Raso
  • "The Importance of Educating Nurse Practitioners as Educators" with Molly Jackson & Latina Brooks
  • "Nurse Executive Mental Health" with Angela Prestia

The membership fee will support the Endowment Fund for the Marian K. Shaughnessy Nurse Leadership Academy. Thank you for your consideration to become officially recognized as a member of this select, leadership group.

For more information, contact:
Nancy Hovan
Director of Development, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing
Nancy.Hovan@case.edu