J’can scholar named among outstanding faculty members at investiture

TORONTO:

Although she has been working in her new position since January 9, D Karen Flynn, was formally invested as the Terrance & Karyn Endowed Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing this week.

At the investiture, which was held on April 30, Dean Eileen Collins, UIC College of Nursing, said the occasion celebrated three extraordinary nurse faculty formally seated in some of the most prestigious roles the college has to offer. The others were Shannon Halloway as the Heung Soo & Mi Ja Kim Endowed Faculty Scholar, and Janna Stephens as Nursing Collegiate Professor.

Dr Robert Barish, vice chancellor for health afairs of the university, said an investiture is a revered academic tradition, the act of bestowing a select few who distinguish themselves as leaders to positions of prestige and honour.

“Endowed faculty positions are crucial sources of support to sustain a tradition of excellence for many years into the future. They don’t only elevate the faculty who are named to those positions, they also reflect the excellence of the college and the university. They bring greater visibility to the institution and allow us to attract more of the best and brightest talent. This in turn attracts like-minded philanthropy which ultimately benefits our students and the communities that we serve. So, it’s a virtuous cycle and it’s a virtuous circle which of course is the best kind,” he said and also thanked the donors, Dr Karyn Holm and Dr Mi Ja Kim.

Dr Flynn has created a body of work focused on nursing and health care history in the context of black feminist and diaspora studies.

Her award-winning book, Moving Beyond Borders: Black Canadian and Caribbean women in the African Canadian Diaspora, delves into the experiences of 35 postwar-era nurses in Canada.

She also co-led with fellow UIC nursing professor Gwyneth Franck, the Mapping Care project, a travelling exhibit and website highlighting the historic and current contributions of black nurses in Chicago. She is also working with grant funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to help build an archive of East St Louis residents experiences during the pandemic. Dr Flynn also serves as director of the Midwest Nursing History Research Center housed in the College of Nursing.

She was previously associate professor in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

IMMEASURABLE SUPPORT

In the preamble to introducing Dr Flynn, Dr Collins thanked the donor Dr Karyn Holm, who was present, and her late husband, Terrance, for making the donation to create the professorship. “The existence of the professorship allowed the college to recruit a pre-eminent scholar of nursing history, Dr Karen Flynn.”

“Dr Flynn has said how happy she is that this position will allow her to focus her scholarship not just on publications, but also on exhibits, oral histories, and other types of engagements with communities of nursing. There is no doubt about how deserving she is of this honour.”

Referencing lines from Patti LaBelle’s song, When You’ve Been Blessed, Dr Flynn said it reflected aspects of her own life and the fundamental belief that when you have been blessed you must pass it on.

“Today, I stand before you a product of a large village and tribe that transcends Jamaica where I was born, Canada where I spent my formative years – most of my life – and the United States where I now live, work, and laugh. I’m here because at every step of this journey people have supported me in immeasurable ways.”

Dr Flynn thanked Dr Holm and her late husband, Terrance, for funding the endowed chair because they recognised the importance of nurses, past and present. “Despite constituting the majority of healthcare workers globally, until recently, nursing has not been deemed worthy of historical analysis.”

“I am honoured to be the endowed chair and I take seriously the task entrusted to me to continue documenting and making visible nursing contributions and accomplishments,” she said before thanking her predecessor Gwyneth Franck.