Joanne M. Disch, PhD, RN, FAAN, received the prestigious Geraldine “Polly” Bednash Lectureship Award from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) in honor of her work to advance interdisciplinary education and collaborative practice.The award was presented to Disch at the AACN 2017 Spring Meeting, March 17-18, at the Fairmont Washington Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Disch is professor ad honorem at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. Her leadership includes serving as president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN and American Academy of Nursing (AAN), and board member and chair of the National Board of Directors for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
Most recently, Disch was elected chair of the Aurora Health Care board of directors, becoming the first nurse to hold the position.
A 1976 Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) graduate of the UAB School of Nursing, Disch received the School’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1994. In 2010, she was named one of the School’s 60 Visionary Leaders, and she was appointed to the UAB School of Nursing’s National Advisory Council in 2015.
