The Alumni Achievement Award, established in 2021, will be presented annually by the Penn State Nursing Alumni Society and will recognize a Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing graduate actively working in the healthcare field who has impacted the healthcare industry in a profound way, who supports a model of professional practice in their organization through leadership, innovation, strong mentorship, and overall practice. You may include examples of how they overcame adversity, improved care, and increased resources to treatment or prevention while demonstrating Penn State’s values.
Criteria
- Must be a graduate more than 10 years ago from the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing.
- Must have made an impact on the healthcare industry, supports professional practice in their organization through leadership, innovation, strong mentorship, and overall practice.
- Must not be a current board member or officer of the Nursing Alumni Society.
- Must currently be active in the profession.
Submit a nomination
Nomination Deadline: September 30, 2026
If you wish to submit a nomination, please complete the Nomination Form.
Nomination materials must include the following in order to be considered complete:
- Nominee name, email, graduation year, job title, business/organization
- Name and email address of a reference that could discuss the nominee’s qualifications for this award if contacted
- Rationale for the nomination in 500 words or less
- how the nominee has or has the potential to significantly impact the nursing profession
- how the nominee demonstrates exemplary professional practice
- how the nominee demonstrates the ability to advocate on behalf of the nursing profession and in the best interest of the community
- Link to nominee’s LinkedIn profile, if applicable
- Optional: Information supporting the nominee’s outstanding qualities (news articles, research articles, CV/resume, awards, etc.). This is not intended to be a letter of support.
If you have any questions about the nomination process, please email us at conalumni@psu.edu.
Current Recipient
Dr. Donald Bucher ’99
Dr. Donald Bucher is a distinguished leader in advanced practice nursing and a passionate advocate for excellence in patient care. He serves as Vice Chair of Advanced Practice in the Department of Medicine at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and as an assistant professor at the Penn State College of Medicine.
An acute care nurse practitioner, he has built a career defined by clinical expertise, education, leadership, and healthcare advocacy. Dr. Bucher has also helped shape the nursing profession across Pennsylvania through his service as past president of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners and as a member of the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing.
His many honors include the Florence Nightingale Award, recognition as a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and the Pennsylvania AANP State Award for Outstanding Contributions to Nurse Practitioners. In 2026, Dauphin County declared February 26 “Donald Bucher Day.”
Past Recipients
2025 – Leslie Treas ’83
2024 – Laura Bush Wiggins ’94
2023 – Jennifer Wissemann ’20g
2022 – Pamela Harris-Haman ’81
NOTE: Before the creation of the Alumni Achievement Award, the college and its Alumni Society presented the Shirley Novosel Distinguished Nursing Alumni Award. Although the Novosel Award has since been retired, the outstanding contributions of its past recipients continue to inspire and shine brightly. Recipients from 1997 through 2020 are listed here. »
