Awards
Nominations are sought from the community for the following awards, and selections are made by the Commencement Awards Committee.
Annie Goodrich, founding dean of Yale School of Nursing, was an outstanding nurse leader and educator whose vision set the course for nursing education. Each year, the students recognize an outstanding faculty member through the Annie Goodrich Award for excellence in teaching.
The Charles King, Jr., Memorial Scholars’ Aid Prize is awarded to a member of the graduating M.S.N. class who has demonstrated outstanding performance in scholarship, research, and clinical practice and who, through accomplishments and leadership, has inspired an admiration for professional work. Nominations are solicited from faculty and students.
The Milton and Anne Sidney Prize is awarded to a graduating D.N.P. student whose research, in the judgment of the faculty, best exemplifies the school’s commitment to clinical scholarship and its mission to contribute to better health care for all people. Nominations are solicited from faculty.
YSN is committed to recognizing, acknowledging, and combatting structural racism to tap into our foundational ethos: the responsibility to engage in intersectional education, practice, and scholarship that addresses the clinical, socioeconomic, and environmental issues plaguing the health of people and the planet. The Heather Dawn Reynolds Equity Award is presented annually to a person in the YSN community who embodies this ethos and shows an unwavering commitment to help YSN address diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
Each year the YSN graduating students select student marshals, a faculty marshal, and a banner bearer to participate in the Old Campus Commencement. The banner bearer and faculty marshal will lead YSN in the Commencement procession. The student marshals will lead their graduating class in the Commencement procession and go up to the dais and receive the “diplomas” from the Yale president (the actual diplomas are with the registrar). These individuals are people who have shown commitment to the YSN community and are chosen by the members of the graduating class.