Taylor-Piliae and Godfrey inducted into nursing academy

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Ruth Taylor-Piliae, PhD, RN, a professor and interim PhD program director for the University of Arizona College of Nursing, and Timian Godfrey, DNP, an associate clinical professor with the college, were inducted into the Western Academy of Nurses at this year’s Western Institute of Nursing Conference.

The academy recognizes and honors nurses who have been actively engaged in the institute and have demonstrated excellence in all aspects of nursing, from research to practice and education.

New and emerging nursing knowledge is shared at the organization’s annual conference. The institute is one of four regional nursing research organizations in the United States whose members include researchers, clinicians, educators, students, academic institutions and health care organizations.

Taylor-Piliae, who received the Regional Geriatric Nursing Research Award: Senior Researcher in 2023, has been a member of the institute for 21 years. She said it was an honor to be inducted into the Western Academy of Nurses.

“I am grateful for all of the opportunities that come with being a WAN member, enabling me to contribute my nursing leadership expertise to support the nursing profession and, in particular, to provide mentorship, guidance and support to our PhD nursing students and early career nurse-scientists so that they achieve their research and career goals,” said Taylor-Piliae, who has been with the College of Nursing for 17 years.

Godfrey has been an institute member since 2020 and has been active with the organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. She is the chair of the Western Institute of Nursing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee and is PI for two nursing workforce diversity grants at the College of Nursing. 

“Being a member of WIN offered critical support during the pandemic when there was so much unrest in the world,” said Godfrey, who joined the College of Nursing faculty in 2019. “The diversity, equity and inclusion work I have been engaged in helped center me throughout that time and provided purposeful work when I felt helpless in many other aspects of my life.

“I’ve been able to learn directly from incredible leaders and have developed lifelong meaningful relationships with other like-minded scholars across the nation because of WIN. I hope to share the experience I’ve had in WIN with the students I teach and mentor.”

According to its website, the institute’s mission is to improve the health of the public through visionary leadership in nursing research, practice and education.