Mennonite College of Nursing Assistant Professor Elaine Hardy has been selected to take part in the 2014–2015 Nurse Faculty Leadership Academy (NFLA).

NFLA is a program of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Hardy was chosen to join 13 other junior nurse educators to be a part of the NFLA’s 22-month program, helping groom these nurse educators into leaders.

Hardy has been a faculty member at Illinois State University since August 2012. She has served on the Prelicensure Program Committee and various committees to improve the curriculum for undergraduate nursing students, and has participated and collaborated with the Pre-entry and Retention Opportunities for the Undergraduate Diversity (PROUD) grant team. Hardy has been leading a project team in the development of leadership skills in students involved with the PROUD program. Additionally she was recently inducted as a member of the Central Illinois Chapter of the Links Inc. and is the founder of the Central Illinois Black Nurses Chapter.

“It is an honor to be recognized by Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Faculty Leadership Academy as a scholar,” Hardy said. “As an early faculty educator, this opportunity has been instrumental in giving me direction as a nurse leader, allowing me to be more self-aware of the qualities that I currently possess as a leader, and developing those that will mold me into a better leader.”

NFLA is an intense international leadership development experience designed for aspiring leaders in nursing education who have at least two years of experience but no more than seven years of experience as full time nontenured faculty in a school of nursing. Scholars in the academy are chosen through a competitive selection process. The goals of the academy are to foster academic career success, promote nurse faculty retention and satisfaction, encourage personal leadership development, and cultivate high-performing, supportive work environments in academe.