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Saban, Conway-Phillips honored

Two Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing Faculty who study racial disparities in health care received prestigious awards at the Power of Nursing Leadership (PNL) event this month for their contributions to the profession.

Karen Saban, professor and associate dean for research and scholarly innovation, received the SAGE Award in honor of her contributions to the development of other nurse scientists. SAGE recipients make a “significant” impact, “advise and guide” others in their careers, and offer “enlightenment” by challenging others to grow. According to PNL, the award spotlights “nurses who mentor and support leadership of today while always looking for ways to mentor the nurse leaders of tomorrow.”

Regina Conway-Phillips, associate professor and department chair of health systems and adult health nursing, received PNL’s inaugural Advancing Health Equity Award in acknowledgement of her work in reducing health disparities and improving nursing workforce diversity.

Dean Lorna Finnegan praised both faculty members for their leadership and dedication to the nursing profession. Saban, she wrote in her nomination letter, “is a generous and sought-after mentor by clinicians, students, and faculty” who has made guiding others a central feature of her career. In her 17 years at Loyola University Chicago, Saban has mentored more than 40 graduate students and formally taught more than 1,000, while maintaining a deep commitment to mentoring junior faculty and postdoctoral scholars.

Several faculty who contributed to Saban’s nomination described her as a role model and praised her collegiality, abilities as an administrator and teacher, and humility.

“Dr. Saban has been one of my mentors, showing me patience, grace, and constructive criticism. I have also guest lectured for her courses and noticed she shows students the same respect, mentorship, and acceptance as faculty,” wrote Lindsey Garfield, an assistant professor.

Conway-Phillips, according to Finnegan and others who submitted nomination letters, has devoted her career to reducing health disparities among Black women and increasing diversity within the nursing profession. The first Black tenured faculty member at the School of Nursing, she is a faculty leader in the CARE (Collaboration, Access, Resources, and Equity) Pathway to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program for students of color.

Colleagues praised Conway-Phillips for her passion for health equity and her openness in sharing her experiences growing up on Chicago’s South Side.

“In our school, she is a singular voice in bringing to light not just the science of nursing, but also the art of nursing through her passionate stories of how inequity flows throughout society,” wrote Mary Byrn, department chair of family and community health nursing, Jorgia Connor, assistant dean of the BSN program, and Dian Squire, associate dean for inclusive excellence. “As a lifelong Chicagoan, she brings to the fore the social disparities that have negatively impacted racially marginalized groups in our community and centers the voices of the most marginalized in service of equity and social justice.”

Both Saban and Conway-Phillips are connected to a major research initiative that studies reductions for race-based stress in Black women at risk for cardiovascular disease. Saban is principal investigator of the Resilience, Stress, and Ethnicity (RiSE) program, which is now being tested through National Institutes of Health National Institute on Aging funding. Conway-Phillips was co-investigator on two grants that led to the development of the RiSE program.

PNL is a major statewide event that celebrates the impact and achievements of nurse leaders throughout Illinois. Both faculty were honored at the PNL annual celebration on Nov. 3, 2023.