On Thursday, March 9, Lubbock Christian University and the Covenant School of Nursing will host the seventh annual event in the <link https: lcu.edu majors-programs bachelors-degree nursing distinguished-speaker-series external-link-new-window internal link in current>Distinguished Speaker Series. Each year, more than 500 nurses and students attend the series hosted on LCU’s campus, focusing on pressing and current topics in the field of nursing. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, associate vice president for health promotion, university chief wellness officer, and professor and dean of the College of Nursing at The Ohio State University. Among her many accolades are over 19 million dollars of sponsored funding from federal agencies as principal investigator, over 280 publications, and numerous national and international awards for her leadership in the field of nursing. The event is funded primarily by Prosperity Bank with additional support from the local Texas Nurses Association and the local Iota Mu chapter of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society. Prosperity Bank’s CEO, Mr. W.R. Collier, has been a longtime friend of the nursing community in the Lubbock area, providing an endowed scholarship fund for local nursing students, holding fundraisers, and other similar events. It was because of this support and dedication to local nursing that LCU and the Covenant School of Nursing named the auditorium in the new Margaret Talkington Center for Nursing Education after him. Learn more about the <link https: lcu.edu majors-programs bachelors-degree nursing covenant-partnership external-link-new-window internal link in current>LCU and CSON nursing program and <link https: lcu.edu majors-programs bachelors-degree nursing external-link-new-window internal link in current>nursing degrees on the LCU website.