Rear Admiral Clara Cobb
Rear Admiral Clara H. Cobb, United States Assistant Surgeon General, served as a keynote speaker for Leadership Institute II held June 17-18 at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU).
Organized by WSSU’s Center of Excellence for the Elimination of Health Disparities (CEEHD), the institute is designed to help prepare young professional minority educators to move into leadership positions within nursing education programs.
“We know we need more minority health care providers as part of our efforts to eliminate health disparities throughout the community, this state and this nation,” said Dr. Sylvia Flack, executive director of the CEEHD. “We also need, however, more minority nurses in leadership roles.”
Dr. Flack presents Rear Admiral Cobb with a token of appreciation from the university.
As assistant surgeon general, Cobb is the regional health administrator for eight southeastern states, including North Carolina. Other keynote speakers for the institute included Dr. Debra A. Toney, president of the National Black Nurses Association and president of a home health care agency in Las Vegas, and Dr. Virginia Adams, past dean of nursing at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and consultant on diversity and global issues for the National League for Nursing.
“The institute provides those aspiring to leadership positions in nursing education and individuals who are new in leadership positions with the opportunity to hear from some excellent speakers,” said Flack. “More importantly, however, it provides the opportunity to be mentored by these outstanding women.”
In addition to the presentations, protégées attending the institute were matched with mentors who represented the top researchers, administrators, educators, policy makers and clinicians in nursing.
“By providing mentors to the young professionals, we hope to accelerate leadership development and provide ongoing career support,” Flack added. “The program should certainly impact efforts to prepare more young professionals to assume leadership roles in nursing education as well as in the clinical field, both of which are extremely important to the future of healthcare.”
