Legacy of Caring Award

The “Legacy of Caring Award” is the highest honor within the International Association for Human Caring community.

On behalf of the Board, it is my immense privilege and honor to present the 2022 recipients!

Our first “Legacy of Caring Award” goes to: Dr. Savina Schoenhofer

Dr. Schoenhofer completed her Baccalaureate and Master at Wichita State University and a PhD at Kansas State University in 1983.  She began the study of caring in nursing in 1984 on her appointment to the Faculty of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University.  In the summer of 1985, she attended her first conference on caring and has been a member of the International Association for Human Caring since its inception.  As a member of the Faculty and chair of the curriculum committee of Nursing at FAU, she was a leader in the efforts to refine the caring-based curriculum in preparation for initial national accreditation.  At the conclusion of that process, she and her colleague, Dr. Anne Boykin continued to study and develop an understanding of caring in nursing that led to the 1993 publication of the Theory of Nursing As Caring, with an updated version in 2001.  Dr. Schoenhofer retired from teaching in 2014. She lives in Jackson, Mississippi but continues to study, write and collaborate in nursing education, research and practice grounded in caring.  She is a founding Board Member of the Anne Boykin Institute for the Advancement of Caring in Nursing.  Now, more closely to the IAHC, Dr. Schoenhofer was a Charter member of the National Caring Research Conference, that was founded in 1987 as the first formal structure (with officers and Board members).  She was one of the visionaries. Dr. Schoenhofer also served as Chair of the IAHC Nominating Committee from 2001 through 2004. She presented at many IAHC conferences and attended most of them over the years (maybe all of them!).  She continues to be active, attending the virtual Journal Clubs gatherings and other IAHC virtual events.  She has been such an inspiration with her gentle giving presence and her incredible scholarly mind and contributions, through her writings and presence among us.   

Dear Savina, on behalf of the subcommittee and the Board, I offer you my deepest congratulations. Now Dr Nelson, I would like to invite you to present Dr. Schoenhofer her “Legacy of Caring Award” for her outstanding contributions to caring and our organization.

Our second “Legacy of Caring Award” goes to: Dr. Lynne A. Wagner

Dr. Lynne Wagner is a Caring Science Scholar, Watson Caritas Coach, WCSI Faculty Associate, and Nurse Educator-Consultant. Her 50 years long nursing career includes clinical nursing, Staff Education, Family Nurse Practitioner, and with over 20 years in Nursing Education, honored as Professor Emerita. She presently is engaged in mentor programs, conferences and workshops on Caring practices. Her research and publications focus on a caring mentoring model for nursing, reflective practice of journaling and storytelling; aesthetic ways of knowing, using story, poetry, and photography. Her 2015 book, entitled, Four Seasons of Grieving, received the ANA Book of the Year 1st place in Palliative and Hospice category. In 2018, she was awarded the ANA Massachusetts annual Nurse Mentoring award. She is co-founder and leader of the Massachusetts Regional Caring Science Consortium in 2013 that offers programs for nurses to explore caring practices together. Now, more closely to our Association, Dr Wagner has been an IAHC member since 1993 and worked as IAHC historian since 1995. Her love of the history of IAHC has made a difference in the recording of IAHC history ever since she began. She worked with Dolores Gaut to reconstruct several years of history and humbly took over the role as historian. Lynne as served on the IAHC Board three times. She has presented at every IAHC conference since 1993, except 2 years for personal reasons. She has served on the editorial board for IAHC Journal and been a peer reviewer for the IAHC conference for many years.

Dear Lynne, on behalf of the subcommittee and the Board, I offer you my deepest congratulations. Now Dr Nelson, I would like to invite you to present Dr. Wagner her “Legacy of Caring Award” for her outstanding contributions to caring and our organization.

Our last “Legacy of Caring Award” goes to: Dr. Madeleine Leininger

Dr. Madeleine Leininger was born on July 13^th, 1925. She earned a nursing diploma from St. Anthony's Hospital School of Nursing, followed by undergraduate degree at Benedictine College. She received a Master at Catholic University of America. She later studied cultural and social anthropology at the University of Washington, earning her PhD in 1966. She held faculty positions at the University of Cincinnati, University of Colorado, followed by service as a nursing school Dean at both the University of Washington and the University of Utah. She was Professor Emeritus of Nursing at Wayne State University. Dr Leininger was the founder and a central leader of Transcultural nursing who paid much attention on the study of human caring within a transcultural perspective. Moreover, she initiated the Transcultural Nursing Society, a global organization whose objective was to advance the study and practice of transcultural nursing care. Now, more closely to our Association, in 1978, the National Caring Research Conference was conceived and initiated by Dr. Madeleine Leininger. The annual conference was designed to gather scholars together to share ideas, research, and theories of care and caring. She was the Founder of IAHC and its President for 12 years. Dr. Leininger held at least three honorary doctoral degrees. Dr. Leininger unfortunately died at her home in Omaha, Nebraska on August 10^th, 2012. But she remains posthumously an inspiration for the International Association for Human Caring and numerous scholars. 

Dear Dr Leininger, on behalf of the subcommittee and the Board, it is such a great honor to acknowledge your outstanding contribution today as the mother of caring and the founder of our organization. Now Dr Nelson, I would like to invite you to present Dr. Leininger’s posthumous “Legacy of Caring Award”. Then, I would like to ask Dr Dee Ray to say a few words as Dr Leininger’s first doctoral student on transcultural caring.