Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, President and CEO of the National League for Nursing (NLN) was the keynote speaker at the 2025 Frontier Nursing University (FNU) commencement ceremony. Commencement took place at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, on Saturday, September 27.
“Frontier Nursing University was honored to welcome Dr. Malone as our 2025 commencement speaker,” said FNU President Dr. Brooke A. Flinders. “Her distinguished career and dedication to advancing healthcare serves as a powerful inspiration to our graduates as we celebrate their achievements and ongoing contributions to the communities in which they serve.”
Dr. Paula Alexander-Delpech, FNU’s Inaugural Dean of Student Success, introduced keynote speaker Dr. Malone.
“This is the opportunity to step into greatness,” Dr. Malone said, addressing the graduates. “This is the time to say, ‘What door is going to be opened to me by this event. What is my next step? How can I step into greatness?’ Do not put blinders on yourself, do not contain yourself. Understand that this is your opportunity, your option, to step up into greatness.”
She encouraged the graduates to remain positive and confident as they furthered their careers in healthcare in service to their communities.
“A vision without action is hallucination,” she said. “We are nurses. We bring the hope with us. We have a self-generating mechanism of hope with us at all times.”
Dr. Malone is a noted health care leader, accomplished innovator, and nursing champion. Under her leadership, the National League for Nursing (NLN) has advanced the science of nursing education through enhancing stakeholder collaboration, increasing diversity in nursing scholarship, and championing evidence-based practice. Dr. Malone’s distinguished career has blended policy, education, administration, and clinical practice, including as Federal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health under President Bill Clinton.
Dr. Malone serves as vice chair at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Board of Directors, co-leads the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Health Professional Education and Communication Working Group, and serves on NAM’s Steering Committee.
The American Nurses Association (ANA) named Dr. Malone as their 2024 Hall of Fame Award recipient. The American Academy of Nursing honored Dr. Malone with their 2024 Mary Elizabeth Carnegie Leadership in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity (EDI) Award. The National Black Nurses Association recognized Dr. Malone as a 2024 inaugural Fellow in the Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing (FADLN).
Modern Healthcare honored Dr. Malone as one of the nation’s leading health care executives by naming her to the 2023 list of the Top 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives in Healthcare. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) presented Dr. Malone with the prestigious 2023 HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein Award for her commitment to advancing the nursing profession and excellence in nursing professional practice across international borders.
In 2020, Dr. Malone was given the University of Cincinnati’s Linda Bates Parker Legend Award, named an Honorary Member of the Philippine Nurses Association of America, and presented with an Award of Distinction by the NLN Board of Governors. Also, she was bestowed the Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award by the National Center for Healthcare Leadership and conferred by the American Academy of Nursing with their Highest Nursing Honor, “Living Legend.”
Frontier Nursing University awarded 1,139 certificates and degrees this year in advanced practice nursing and nurse-midwifery specialties, including Post-Graduate Certificates, the Master of Science in Nursing, and the Doctor of Nursing Practice.
Pictured L to R: Dean of Student Success Paula Alexander-Delpech, PhD, PMHNP-BC, APRN, President Brooke A. Flinders, DNP, RN, APRN-CNM, FACNM, and Dean of Nursing Kristin B. Ashford, PhD, WHNP-BC, FAAN
