Rutgers School of Nursing alumna Beverly Malone (PhD, RN, FAAN), president and CEO of the National League for Nursing, has been selected to receive a 2025 International Board Award from Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. She is one of only 10 nurse leaders worldwide to earn Sigma’s Nell J. Watts Lifetime Achievement in Nursing Award, recognizing exceptional contributions to the advancement of nursing and health care.

Honorees will be celebrated during Sigma’s 48th Biennial Convention, Nov. 8–11, 2025, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

“On behalf of the Sigma Board of Directors, I want to personally recognize and congratulate this biennium’s Board Award recipients who are leading the way and represent the best of the nursing profession,” said Sigma President Sandra C. Garmon Bibb (DNSc, RN, FFNMRCSI, FAAN). “Your dedication to excellence is to be applauded and admired.”

Malone is a proud graduate of Rutgers, where she earned her master’s degree in adult psychiatric nursing. She was inducted into the Rutgers University Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2007—one of the university’s highest honors. Over the years, she has remained a strong supporter of Rutgers School of Nursing, returning to address graduates at the school’s convocation and mentoring emerging leaders through programs such as the Multicultural Nurse Leadership Institute.

She has led the National League for Nursing since 2007, shaping national and international discourse on nursing education and workforce policy. Her distinguished career has spanned academia, clinical practice, and health policy, including service as federal deputy assistant secretary for health under President Bill Clinton and as a contributor to the landmark Institute of Medicine report The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.

Now serving as vice chair of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Board of Directors, Malone co-leads the National Academy of Medicine Health Professional Education and Communication Working Group, and is a member of NAM’s Steering Committee and ecoAmerica’s Leadership Circle Executive Committee.

In the past two years alone, Malone has received numerous national and international honors. The American Nurses Association named her a 2024 Hall of Fame Award recipient; the American Academy of Nursing honored her with the 2024 Mary Elizabeth Carnegie Leadership in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity Award; and the National Black Nurses Association inducted her as an inaugural Fellow in its Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing. That same year, The Lancet profiled Malone for her global leadership in health care.

In 2023, Modern Healthcare recognized her among the “Top 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives in Health Care” and listed her for the fourth consecutive year among the “100 Most Influential People in Health Care.” The American Nurses Credentialing Center also presented her with the HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein Award for advancing nursing excellence across international borders.

Malone is internationally recognized as the first African American to serve as general secretary of the United Kingdom’s Royal College of Nursing, representing more than 400,000 nurses, and as a member of the UK delegation to the World Health Assembly. With more than 20 honorary degrees and a legacy of leadership that bridges education, policy, and clinical practice, Malone continues to inspire nurses around the world—and remains one of Rutgers’ most distinguished alumni.