Eula Aiken, who led SREB’s charge to improve the quality, capacity and diversity of college programs to educate nurses, has retired as executive director of the Council on Collegiate Education for Nursing after more than 40 years with the organization.

In announcing her retirement, the Council’s board of directors recognized Aiken’s contributions to the field: 

“Through Dr. Aiken’s leadership, CCEN strengthened college-based nursing programs at all levels — associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral — within community and technical colleges, colleges, universities and academic health centers to prepare registered nurses for entry-level and advanced practice nursing positions in the 16 SREB states and the District of Columbia. 

“Building on more than five decades of collaboration with nursing leaders to promote cooperative regional planning, CCEN is a proactive force for inspiring excellence in nursing education throughout the southern region. Dr. Aiken worked tirelessly with member institutions to expand and strengthen schools of nursing at colleges and universities in SREB states to reduce the critical shortage of nurse educators needed for the training of the southern registered nurse workforce. 

“During Dr. Aiken’s tenure, she represented CCEN at various meetings, facilitated the development of the Nurse Educator Consortium, composed annual reports and position papers on nursing in the southern region, convened an annual meeting of member and guest institutions and promoted the development of the Mary Elizabeth Carnegie Award. Through Dr. Aiken’s persistent leadership and guidance SREB CCEN was the regional forum that concentrated on national, state, and local nursing education issues through an inter-institutional collaborative network of nursing leaders and educators.

“The CCEN Board sincerely thanks Dr. Aiken for her years of dedication, service and leadership. Please join us in wishing Dr. Aiken a very restful retirement.”