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Nursing Associate Dean Craven Garners UW Faculty Award
Nursing Associate Dean Ruth F. Craven is the recipient of a Distinguished Contributions to Lifelong Learning award from the University of Washington.

Craven heads educational outreach and community relations for the UW School of Nursing, where her leadership over the past 34 years has created the largest university-based, self-sustaining continuing nursing education (CNE) program in the western United States. Craven was one of three faculty recognized by the UW for teaching or designing courses, seminars or workshops aimed at working adults and other nontraditional students. Each honoree received a plaque and a $1,000 award.

Craven's influence within the state of Washington has created an infrastructure that tailors educational programs to the specific needs of nurses practicing in the field, from rural primary care to acute neonatal intensive care. She also has been involved in an effort to promote partnerships in nursing education among the three UW campuses, a project funded by UW President Richard L. McCormick's Tools for Transformation initiative. "These courses," notes Marjorie Dobratz, director of the nursing program at UW Tacoma, "have opened a 'window of opportunity' for our older, returning registered nurse students."

In addition, Craven has created many innovative educational programs for career redirection and professional development among health care providers. These include the post-master's Perioperative Nursing Certificate Program, the Long Term Care Nursing Administration Program, the federally funded Wound Management Certificate Program, and collaboration with the University of Washington Medical Center to provide CNE opportunities for nursing staff.

A professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, Craven was appointed assistant dean for CNE in 1987 and Associate Dean for Educational Outreach and Community Relations in 2000. She is first author of a popular nursing text, Fundamentals of Nursing: Human Health and Function, and has been a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing since 1999.

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