Save the Date

The annual Gunter-Gooding DEI Lecture returns, this year covering “AI and Health Equity.”

A collaborative effort, this event is brought to you by Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, Paul Roberson Cultural Center, and the Multicultural Student Nursing Association.

Registration

This event is free and open to the public.
Both in-person and virtual attendees must register in advance.
Register for the 2026 Gunter-Gooding DEI Lecture »

Featuring Keynote Speaker

Dr. Kellie Bryant, DNP, WHNP, CHSE, FSSH, FADLN, FAAN
Director of the Center for Innovation in Education Excellence
National League for Nursing

With Virtual Panelists

Dr. Sherri Johnson, DNP, MPA, RN, FADLN, FAAN
Founder of The Institute for Health and Social Equity

Dr. Paulina Van, PhD, RN, CNE, FADLN, FAAN
Professor Emeritus, Samuel Merritt University
Best-selling Author, Regala Healing

And Moderated By

Sheldon D. Fields, PhD, RN FNP-BC, AACRN, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN
Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion;
Research Professo,
Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing

With Special Performance By

Sir Dominique Jordan
Spoken Word Poet

About the Series

The Gunter–Gooding Lecture series is named in honor of two African American women who served as head of the Department of Nursing at Penn State University.

Dr. Laurie Martin Gunter, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN served as head of the Department of Nursing from 1971 to 1976, and again as interim department head from 1984 to 1985. She retired as professor emerita in 1987 after 16 years of University service. She was a well-respected researcher with a focus on nursing care of the elderly. She held Fellow status in the Gerontological Society of America and the American Academy of Nursing and was an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Gunter held a nursing diploma from Meharry Medical College, a bachelor of science in home economics from Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial University, a master of arts in education from Fisk University and a doctorate in human development from the University of Chicago. She passed away on June 15, 2015.

Dr. Marion Gooding, PhD, RN was the fifth head of the Department of Nursing at Penn State and served from 1985 to 1987 when the department was part of the then College of Human Development. She also served as the dean of the School of Nursing at Tennessee State University prior to her arrival at Penn State. Gooding received her diploma in nursing from Saint Mary’s school of nursing, a bachelors and master’s in nursing from Teachers College – Columbia University, and doctorate in educational administration in higher education from Vanderbilt University.

Contact Hour Information

Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. This activity has been submitted for 1.0 contact hour for participants who hold a valid RN license, attend the entire activity, and complete the post-activity evaluation. Partial contact hours are not awarded.