Kathy Richards, Ph.D., First Recipient of Alice Sun Professorship

May 10, 2006 |

LITTLE ROCK – Kathy Richards, Ph.D., R.N., a nationally renowned sleep and geriatrics researcher at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Nursing, has been named the inaugural recipient of the Alice Sun Professorship in Geriatric Nursing.

 

Richards, a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, is professor of nursing and director of the college’s Tailored Biobehavioral Intervention Research Center. She also helped establish and co-directs the college’s John A. Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence. She is associate director for health services research, geriatric research, education and clinical center at the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development Center at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.

 

Named for the late Alice An-Loh Sun, who dedicated 53 years to the nursing profession, the professorship is a prestigious honor with a $500,000 endowment that will help anchor Richards’ research efforts. She is one of the few nurses in the country to be certified by the American Board of Sleep Medicine and has earned the title of diplomat.

 

“Dr. Richards’ work has resulted in ground-breaking research and laid the foundation for future researchers interested in sleep with geriatric populations,” said College of Nursing Dean Linda Hodges, Ed.D., R.N.

 

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, five centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has about 2,320 students and 690 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 9,300 employees, including nearly 1,000 physicians who provide medical care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the VA Medical Center. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $4.4 billion a year.