Dr. May Futrell, 2005

Dr. May Futrell, professor and chair of the Department of Nursing at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, is the winner of the MTA Retired Members Committee's 2005 "Looking to Honor One of Our Own" contest.

Dr. Futrell was nominated by Karen Devereaux Melillo, Ph.D., a professor in the department of nursing at UMass-Lowell, who offered the following comments:

"Dr. Futrell has demonstrated excellence as a nurse, teacher, researcher, role model and mentor to hundreds of undergraduate and graduate nurse practitioner students and faculty at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. In 1975, she developed the first graduate program in the United States, which prepared gerontological nurse practitioners.

"Dr. Futrell is a nationally recognized leader and true visionary in nursing. Her national recognition as an expert gerontological nurse and educator has been key in the development of a number of funded research studies and scholarly publications. She has published extensively, including co-authoring of the first textbook for nurse practitioners in gerontology, entitled, Primary Care of Older Adults.

"I have been fortunate to be mentored by Dr. Futrell, whose role-modeling has been instrumental in many of the professional choices I have made. Most notable among these were my decision to pursue graduate education as a gerontological nurse practitioner at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell in 1977, my decision to return five years later in a faculty role, and my pursuit of doctoral education at Brandeis University where May Futrell herself was one of the first nurse graduates of the Ph.D. program.

"Many years of professional colleagueship with Dr. Futrell have resulted in opportunities to collaborate in countless teaching, research and scholarship activities. As Dr. Futrell plans for her retirement after 47 years of teaching, I find I am indebted to her mentorship. Her visionary leadership has been a beacon of light in all I have done and I know it will continue to shine."