MARCH 2, 2026
8:30 A.M. - 3:30 P.M. NCCU Student Center 500 Nelson St., Durham, NC
Helen Sullivan Miller
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Michael L. Jones, Ph.D., MBA/HCM, R.N., F.A.A.N.
Associate Dean for Engagement & Professional Development, Executive Director for Advancement Clinical Associate Professor, East Carolina University College of Nursing
Michael L. Jones is a doctorally prepared nurse executive and nationally recognized leader in academic nursing, population health and health care administration. He serves as associate dean for culture, engagement and professional development and executive director for advancement at the East Carolina University College of Nursing, where he founded and leads offices focused on faculty success, leadership development, alumni relations, communications and philanthropy.
A fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, Jones serves on the academy’s Fellow Selection Committee, helping steward one of the profession’s highest honors. He also holds national leadership roles with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, including chair of the Access, Connection and Engagement Leadership Network and co-chair of the Nurses’ Health Study 3 Advisory Board.
His scholarship and funded work focus on workforce development, leadership preparation, communityengaged research and academic-practice partnerships. Jones has held senior leadership roles across academic institutions, health systems and national organizations and is a frequent speaker on leadership, professional development and advancing the nursing profession.
G. Rumay Alexander, Ed.D.,
R.N.,
F.A.A.N.
Professor, UNC School of Nursing, Assistant Dean of Relational Excellence at the Adams UNC School of Dentistry
G. Rumay Alexander is senior equity adviser for the American Nurses Association. She also serves as a professor in the School of Nursing and assistant dean of relational excellence at the Adams School of Dentistry and previously was associate vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed her term as president of the National League for Nursing in 2019.
In 2021, Alexander became the ANA’s scholar in residence, advising the National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing. In 2025, the North Carolina Nurses Association inducted her into its Hall of Fame and named her one of North Carolina’s Great 100 Nurses.
Alexander serves on the board of The Leapfrog Group and has contributed to national initiatives addressing diversity, equity and inclusion in health care. A first-generation college graduate, she holds nursing degrees from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Vanderbilt University and a doctorate from Tennessee State University.
29TH ANNUAL HELEN S. MILLER PROGRAM
7:30 - 8:30 A.M. • REGISTRATION
8:30 - 8:55 A.M. • WELCOME/GREETINGS
Dr. Yolanda VanRiel
Department of Nursing Chair, NCCU
Ceremonial Guards Duke and NCCU ROTC
National Anthem
NCCU Chorus
(Please stand for the National Anthem)
Mr. Leonardo Williams Mayor, Durham, NC
Dr. Ontario S. Wooden
Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, NCCU
Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Dean, College of Health of Sciences, NCCU
8:55 - 9 A.M. • INTRODUCTION OF SPEAKER
Ms. Noa Leger
Senior Nursing Student, NCCU
9 - 10 A.M. • KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Dr. Michael L. Jones
Associate Dean for Engagement and Professional Development; Executive Director for Advancement
Clinical Associate Professor, East Carolina University College of Nursing
10 – 10:15 A.M. • BREAK
10:15 - 11:15 A.M. • BREAKOUT SESSION 1
Dr. Tiffany D. Morris, Clara Adams-Ender Endowed Associate Professor and Director of the School of Nursing at North Carolina A&T State University
Dr. Janice Collins-McNeil, Assistant Department Chair, Associate Professor, NCCU
11:15 A.M. – 11:30 A.M. • BREAK
11:30 A.M. - 12 P.M. • POSTER PRESENTATIONS AND VENDORS
12 - 1 P.M. • LUNCH & AWARDS CEREMONY
1 – 2 P.M. • BREAKOUT SESSION 2
Dr. Ernest J. Grant, Vice Dean of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB), Duke School of Nursing
Dr. Terry Ward, North Carolina Board of Nursing Education Consultant
2 – 2:10 P.M. • BREAK
2:10 – 3:10 P.M. • KEYNOTE CLOSING ADDRESS
Dr. G. Rumay Alexander, Professor, UNC School of Nursing, Assistant Dean of Relational Excellence at the Adams UNC School of Dentistry
3:10 - 3:30 P.M. • CLOSING REMARKS
Dr. Yolanda VanRiel
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
BREAKOUT SESSION 1
10:45 - 11:50 A.M.
Room 2321
From Classroom to Community: Leading Scholarship for Social Impact, The LEAD-IMPACT Framework
Tiffany D. Morris, D.N.P., MS Ed., M.S.N., C.N.E.
Clara Adams-Ender Endowed Associate Professor and Director of the School of Nursing at North Carolina A&T State University
Tiffany D. Morris is the Clara AdamsEnder Endowed Associate Professor and Director of the School of Nursing at North Carolina A&T State University. Her academic and administrative leadership reflects a commitment to excellence in nursing education, student success, and professional dialogue, principles central to the legacy of Helen S. Miller.
Dr. Morris’s work emphasizes licensure outcomes, accreditation readiness, and evidence-based strategies that support both nursing students and practicing professionals. Through faculty-student partnership and communityengaged practice, she advances the role of nursing education as a catalyst for leadership, service, and sustained impact in healthcare.
BREAKOUT SESSION 1
10:45 - 11:50 A.M.
Room 2324
From Legacy to Leadership: NCCU Nursing Research Impact
Janice Collins-McNeil Ph.D., APRN, MSPHN, F.N.P., B.C., L.N.C.
Associate Professor at North Carolina Central University
Dr. Janice Collins-McNeil is a nurse scientist, advanced practice clinician, and associate professor at North Carolina Central University. Her work centers on public health frameworks that advance health equity, social justice, and culturally responsive care. Her research and clinical practice address chronic disease and health disparities in marginalized communities, including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, comorbid depression, and opioid use disorder. She integrates primary care and public health through evidence-based, communityengaged approaches to improve individual and population health outcomes.
Collins-McNeil
Morris
BREAKOUT SESSION 2
1 - 2 P.M.
Room 2321
Transitioning to a Leadership Position: A Checklist for Success
Ernest J. Grant, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.
Vice Dean of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB), Duke School of Nursing
Dr. Ernest J. Grant is an associate professor and vice dean for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at the Duke University School of Nursing. He is the immediate past president of the American Nurses Association, the nation’s largest nurses organization representing more than 5.3 million registered nurses, and the first man elected to the role in the organization’s 128-year history.
An internationally recognized burn care and fire safety expert, Grant has been named by Modern Healthcare for four consecutive years as one of the 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives in Health Care and among the 100 Most Influential People in Health Care. He was also named one of the publication’s 2023 Top Diversity Leaders for his national work addressing racism, equity and inclusion in nursing.
In 2002, George W. Bush presented Grant with a Nurse of the Year Award for treating burn victims from the World Trade Center site. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and holds a BSN from North Carolina Central University and MSN and Ph.D. degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
BREAKOUT SESSION 2
1 - 2 P.M.
Room 2324
From Career Path to Career Trajectory. Becoming the Nurse You Were Meant to Be.
TERRY WARD, Ph.D., M.S.N., R.N., C.N.E., ANEF
North Carolina Board of Nursing Education Consultant
Dr. Terry Ward is a registered nurse with 30 years of experience in nursing education and practice. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Mobile and a doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. A fellow of the Academy of Nursing Education and a certified nurse educator, Ward has expertise in curriculum development, program evaluation, and teaching and learning.
She has held several leadership roles, including director of the School of Nursing and associate dean in the College of Health and Human Sciences at North Carolina A&T State University. She currently serves as an education consultant for the North Carolina Board of Nursing.
Her professional honors include the North Carolina Nurses Association’s 2017 Nurse Educator of the Year Award and induction into the North Carolina Great 100. Her research focuses on mental health and has been shared through numerous presentations and publications.
Ward is a longtime member of New Life Christian Center, where she leads the Children’s Church Ministry. She lives in Durham, N.C.
Grant Ward
HELEN SULLIVAN MILLER
Helen Sullivan Miller, historian and educator, was born on March 29, 1917, in Atlanta, Ga. She was a graduate of the School of Nursing, Yale University; Medical College of Virginia; School of Midwifery, Tuskegee Institute; and School of Nursing, University Hospital, Augusta, Ga. Her post-master’s work included study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
At North Carolina Central University, Mrs. Miller served as chairman of the Department of Nursing from 1957-1977 and as an associate professor of Nursing Research from 1977 until her retirement in 1982.
She held many positions prior to faculty appointments. Some of them include staff nurse for the Georgia Department of Public Health in Atlanta; area supervisor for maternal and child health, Georgia Department of Health; administrative nurse, U.S. Army Nurse Corps, at Camp McCoy, Philadelphia; and public health coordinator at Florida A&M University.
She was the first African-American to receive a gubernatorial appointment to the North Carolina Board of Nursing, and she was the first African-American to be elected president of District Eleven of the North Carolina Nurses Association. Other memberships included National Council of Negro Women, National League for Nursing,
National Black Nurses Association, and Chi Eta Phi Sorority Inc., to mention a few in her long list of memberships and appointments. She was the first in North Carolina to receive the Mary Mahoney Award from the American Nurses Association. In 1978, she was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnae Award from her alma mater, Yale University School of Nursing. From 1968 to 1970, she served as the National President of Chi Eta Phi Sorority Inc. Other recognitions include Who’s Who Among Black Americans; Personalities of the South, Leaders and Organizers; The World Who’s Who of Women; Highlights in Nursing in North Carolina; Abstracts of Nursing Research in the South; Contributions of Black Women to America: 1976-1977; and Who’s Who of American Women.
A noted historian, Mrs. Miller wrote “The History of Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc.,” “Mary Eliza Mahoney: America’s First Black Professional Nurse,” “Contemporary Minority Leaders in Nursing” and numerous articles.
One of the major contentions of Helen Miller, both as a private citizen and as a noted nurse historian, was that African-Americans must preserve their past in order to ensure their future. Mrs. Miller died in 2003 at the age of 86.
HISTORY OF THE HELEN S. MILLER LECTURESHIP
The Helen S. Miller Lectureship was established at NCCU in 1996 by Dr. Evelyn Wicker to carry on Miller’s legacy of excellence in nursing. The lectureship honors and recognizes Mrs. Miller’s indelible imprint on the profession in North Carolina, as well as nationally and internationally.
The purpose of the lectureship is first to provide an opportunity and a stage for an African-American nursing scholar to present contemporary issues that will provoke thought and generate dialogue among nursing students and practicing nurses.
Second, it raises money for a scholarship for nursing students at NCCU, with the ultimate goal of creating a Helen S. Miller Endowment. The lectureship also promotes
North Carolina Central University throughout the nursing community.
The Helen S. Miller Lectureship has been a collaborative effort between the Lincoln Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association; Chi Eta Phi Inc., Pi Chapter; the NCCU Nursing Alumni Association, and the Central Carolina Black Nurses Council Inc.
The lectureship fundraising categories reflect the various roles Mrs. Miller played during her nursing career: Pioneer, $1,000 or above; Researcher, $500-$999; Role Model, $250-$499; and Practitioner, $100-$249. An outstanding NCCU Nursing Alumni Award has also been established in the name of Mrs. Miller and is awarded annually.
2026 DISTINGUISHED NCCU NURSING ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENT RILEY B. WALTERS JR., B.S.N., R.N.
Mr. Riley B. Walters Jr. began his distinguished nursing career as a Licensed Practical Nurse while serving in the United States Army. Over the course of twenty years of honorable military service, he rose to the rank of Sergeant First Class before retiring. Demonstrating a lifelong commitment to professional growth, he continued to pursue advanced educational and career opportunities following his military retirement.
Walters has extensive clinical experience across diverse healthcare settings, including acute care, gerontology, and orthopedic nursing. He also served as a Rating Veteran Service
Representative with the Department of Veterans Affairs in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he was responsible for evaluating and determining veterans’ eligibility for disability benefits — continuing his dedication to serving those who served our nation.
He earned his Diploma in Practical Nurse Education from Brooke Army Medical Center 91C School in 1986 and
past recipients of
later obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from North Carolina Central University in 2001.
A committed community leader, Walters is an active member of Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Incorporated, serving at the local, regional, and national levels. He currently serves as President of Pi Chapter. In addition, he is the Chairperson of the Health Committee for the Durham Branch NAACP and holds membership in The Committee on the Affairs of Black People, the NCCU Nursing Alumni Association, and the NCCU National Alumni Association.
A native of Person County, North Carolina, Mr. Walters is a dedicated member of Quinn Chapel AME Church in Roxboro. He is the eldest of three sons born to the late Mr. Riley B. Walters, Sr., and Mrs. Jerolen Walters. His brothers are Michael and Danny.
DISTINGUISHED NCCU NURSING ALUMNI AWARDS
2025 Tammy Linton, D.N.P., C.P.H.Q., C.C.M.
2024 Marri M. Fryar, M.B.A., M.H.A., B.S.N., N.E.-B.C., V.H.A.-C.M.
2023 Priscilla Ramseur, D.N.P., R.N., C.N.O.R., N.E.A.-B.C.
2022 Norris Burton, M.S.N., R.N.
2020 Queen Utley-Smith, Ed.D., R.N., C.N.E., ANEF
2019 Bobbie K. Reddick, Ed.D., M.P.H., R.N.
2018 Gloria McNeil, D.N.P., M.A., M.B.A., R.N., N.E-B.C., N.E.A-B.C., C.E.N.P.
2017 Lt. Barbara Mason, B.S.N., R.N.
2016 Veronica Walker, B.S.N., R.N.
2015 Maude Lyons, M.S.N., B.S.N., R.N., B.C., C.C.H.P.
2014 Shielda G. Rodgers, Ph.D., R.N. 2013 Angeline D. Baker, M.H.A., M.B.A., R.N.
2012 Cheryl Brewer, Ph.D., R.N.
2011 Carol R. Johnson, B.S.N, R.N.
2010 Sharon Elliott-Bynum, Ph.D., R.N. (deceased)
2009 Lt. Colonel Elmontenal Carlius
Allens, M.A., B.S.N., R.N.
2008 Audrey C. Drake, M.S.N., C.N.A.A., R.N.
2006 Wanda Thompson, Ph.D., R.N.
2005 Elizabeth Burkett, M.P.H., R.N.
2004 Ernie Grant, M.S.N., R.N.
2003 Gloria King, M.S.N., R.N.
2002 Evelyn Wicker, Ed.D., R.N.
2001 Lillian Stokes, Ph.D., F.A.A.N., R.N. (deceased)
2000 Mary Baldwin, M.P.H, R.N. 1998 Joan Martin Mathews, Ph.D., R.N. (deceased)
Riley B. Walters Jr.
SPONSORS
PIONEER ($1,000-ABOVE)
Marri N. Fryar
Gloria A. McNeil
Elmontenal C. Allen
RESEARCHER ($500-$999)
Yolanda M. VanRiel
SouthEast Region
Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc.
Pi Chapter of Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc
ROLE MODEL ($250-$499)
Brigit Carter
In Memory of Geneva Fuller Fearrington
PRACTITIONER ($100-$249)
Maude W. Lyons
Cheryl Brewer
Lincoln Hospital School of Nursing Inc.
Riley Walter Jr.
Shawn Porter
Sigma Theta Tau-Pi
Sigma Chapter
SPECIAL THANKS
29TH ANNUAL HELEN MILLER TASK FORCE:
• Elmontenal Allen
• Yolanda VanRiel
• Brigit Carter
• Cheryl Brewer
• Gloria McNeil
• Dominique Williams
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
The Helen S. Miller Task Force expresses appreciation to the individuals, groups and organizations who participated in the planning and implementation of this event. The collective work of many helped to make this 29th annual lectureship a success.
SPECIAL THANKS ARE ACCORDED THE FOLLOWING:
• Aramark
• Duke Continuing Education
• NCCU Central Graphics Copy Center
• NCCU Information Technology Services
• NCCU Office of Communication and Marketing
• DeAndres Royal university photographer, NCCU
• Catherine Watson administrative support
• Carol Johnson, florist
• Kaia Clarke
• Rosalyn Galloway
• Tyshawn Williams
CONTINUING EDUCATION DISCLOSURE FOR THE HELEN S. MILLER LECTURESHIP
Participants must attend the entire session(s) in order to earn contact hour credit. Verification of participation will be noted by learner signature on the roster. Certificates will be distributed via email when online evaluations are completed. The purpose and/or objectives must be provided prior to the start of the activity. Planners and presenters have declared that they have no conflict of interest and no financial relationships which would influence the planning of this activity. If any are discovered during the course of the activity, an announcement will be made to inform the learners. No commercial support has influenced the planning, implementation, or evaluation of the content of this activity. If there were any commercial support provided for this activity, it would be used for events that are not related to continuing education.
In support of improving patient care, Duke University Health System Clinical Education & Professional Development is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team. Nurse Credit: Duke University Health System Department of Clinical Education and Professional Development designates this activity for up to 3 credit hours for nurses. Nurses should claim only credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.
29TH ANNUAL HELEN S. MILLER LECTURE PROGRAM