"This is a well-deserved honor," Brian Kaatz, Ph.D., dean of the School of Health Sciences, said. "June is a visionary leader in nursing education. She has developed ways to address one of the most serious health care issues facing this country – a serious nursing shortage, especially in rural areas."

Larson is a national pioneer in using online tools to help train more nurses as well as help staff nursing homes. She has advanced the use of technology in the nursing curriculum to create classrooms without walls. Three major federal grants to improve nursing education have resulted from her leadership.

Larson is past president of the South Dakota Nursing Education Deans and Directors and the South Dakota Board of Nursing. She is a graduate of Centerville High School and lives in Beresford.

The academy was established by the NLN in 2007 to foster excellence in nursing education through the recognition of outstanding nurse educators. Fellows play a critical role in fostering excellence in nursing education by supporting the vision and mission of the NLN. They help promote standards of excellence to increase the number of graduates from all types of nursing programs, and they serve as resources for new educators, as well as colleagues in clinical practice.

A photograph of Larson accepting the award from M. Elaine Tagliareni, president of the National League For Nursing (left) and NLN CEO Beverly Malone (right) is available for download at www.usd.edu/urelations/images/Award_Larson.jpg.

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