Yale Corporation Awards Emeritus Status to Three Nursing Faculty

August 19, 2021

The Yale Corporation recently awarded emeritus status to Nursing faculty Jane Dixon, PhD, Linda Honan ’89 MSN, PhD, CNS-BC, RN, ANEF, FAAN, and Patricia Ryan-Krause ’81 MSN, MS, PCPNP-BC. 

“It is fitting that their decades of institutional knowledge, wisdom, and service are recognized through this honor, and I know I share in the school’s gratitude that we will continue to benefit from their counsel,” said Dean Ann Kurth ’90 MSN, PhD, CNM, MPH, FAAN. 

Dr. Jane Dixon

Dr. Dixon retired earlier this summer after 45 years of distinguished teaching at YSN. She has taught research methods and conducted research at the school since 1975. 

One thrust of Dr. Dixon’s scholarship is the development and modification of measures based on psychometric principles. She has led or collaborated on projects to develop various measures, including the Environmental Health Engagement Profile. 

Dr. Dixon’s current substantive focus is environment health, engagement of people in promoting healthy environments, people’s concerns about environmental hazards which may affect health, and responses to hazards by those who are most affected. 

Dr. Dixon was awarded the Annie Goodrich Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2006.

Dr. Linda Honan

Dr. Honan began teaching at YSN in 1986 and wrote the first medical surgical textbook for accelerated nursing programs. As the GEPN Program Director and Curriculum Coordinator for many years, she spearheaded several initiatives that combined the science of nursing with the university’s tradition of humanities. “Looking Is Not Seeing and Listening Is Not Hearing” introduced students to the art galleries, the Center for Engineering and Innovative Design, and the School of Music. 

She introduced countless children to the nursing profession with “Have Bones Will Travel,” and she served an integral role in Power Day, an annual event with the School of Medicine and Physician Associate program that explores issues of power and control in health care. 

As Associate Director of the Interprofessional Longitudinal Clinical Experience (ILCE) course, Dr. Honan helped ensure Yale’s health profession students understand the interconnected and interdisciplinary natures of these fields. She founded the Creative Writing Awards, which celebrated its 18th year in 2021. 

Dr. Honan is a recipient of the Donna Diers Mentorship Award from the Delta Mu chapter of Sigma Theta Tau and the Annie W. Goodrich Teaching Award by YSN. The University of Connecticut, her PhD alma mater, awarded her the Beverly Koerner Outstanding Alumni Award for Education in Nursing, and in 2019, the Yale Graduate and Professional Student Senate honored her at a special “Inspiring Yale” event featuring all women honorees in honor of the 50th and 150th anniversaries celebrating women at Yale. 

Patricia Ryan-Krause

Ryan-Krause has taught at YSN for thirty years, conveying to hundreds of pediatric and family nurse practitioner students the importance of patient-provider relationships and the integration of evidence-based care into clinical practice in a variety of settings. 

She has been a driving force in YSN’s global health program, serving as Interim Director of the Center for International Nursing Scholarship and Education and later becoming clinical coordinator in the Office of Global Health. Ryan-Krause launched the global health concentration at YSN in 2014 (now the global health track). For many students, one of the highlights of their YSN experience was her annual trip to Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic where Rayn-Krause has collaborated with community health workers to establish education and capacity-building programs. 

A consummate Yale Nurse, Ryan-Krause has published and presented widely on refugee health, early childhood development, and education and capacity building in global settings. She practices at Yale New Haven Hospital, and she also serves as the nurse practitioner at the Pediatric Refugee Clinic at Yale Primary Care Center. She has also committed countless volunteer hours working with refugees at St. Thomas More Church in New Haven. 

Ryan-Krause is a recipient of the Florence Wald Award for Nursing Practice by the Connecticut Nursing Association, the Global Health Award by the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, the Annie W. Goodrich Teaching Award by YSN, and the Florence Nightingale Award for Excellence in Nursing by the State of Connecticut.