Karen Bankston Honored as 2013 Kautz Alumni Master

Karen Bankston, PhD, associate dean of clinical practice, partnership, and community engagement at the UC College of Nursing, has been named a 2013 Kautz Alumni Master through the University of Cincinnati’s Kautz Alumni Masters Program.

The Kautz Alumni Masters Forum brings distinguished UC alumni to campus to interact and connect with students. It began in 1999 with the support of UC alumnus and benefactor James Kautz.

Bankston, a 2005 graduate of the UC College of Nursing PhD in Nursing Research program, is the first African-American woman and first UC employee to receive the award.

On Oct. 9 and 10, Bankston was hosted by the Carl H. Lindner College of Business and co-hosted by the School of Social Work at the College of Allied Health Sciences to share her expertise related to "Building Relationships through Visionary Leadership.”

"Often professional nurses are only thought of from a narrow clinical perspective; I have been privileged to not only be responsible for clinical nursing care but also the overall operations and leadership for the delivery of care in large organizations,” says Bankston. "This entailed broadening my understanding of delivery of care from multiple perspectives, including the impact on the communities that I have been blessed to serve.”

Bankston was chosen for the award for her leadership impact in the field of health care and education. She is the former senior vice president/CEO of Drake Center, Inc. and vice president of operations/chief operating officer and vice president for patient care/chief nursing officer at University Hospital (now UC Medical Center).

She is the president and CEO of KBD and Associates Consulting Service. She serves the local Cincinnati community through her position at the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s Agenda 360 as the Diverse by Design Steering Committee Chair.

"I am honored to have been recognized by the University of Cincinnati Alumni Association as the Kautz Alumni Master Lecturer to provide students with some of the learnings from my journey,” says Bankston. "In my current role, as an associate dean in the College of Nursing here at the University of Cincinnati, I hope to be able to contribute to the transformation of the delivery system and facilitate the growth of nursing leaders.”