The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) is pleased to announce that Kathleen Clark, D.N.P., Augsburg University, was awarded the 2025 Barbara A. Holland Scholar-Administrator Award. This award honors mid-career scholar-administrators who ground their leadership in research, shape ideas and actions within and beyond their institutions, and help universities serve as engines of social mobility and community well-being.
“Dr. Clark exemplifies what it means to be a Holland Scholar-Administrator. Her leadership bridges scholarship and practice in ways that strengthen her institution, uplifts students, and advances community well-being.” said Valerie Holton, Ph.D., chief executive officer of CUMU.
Dr. Clark serves as executive director of the Augsburg Health Commons, a network of health-focused drop-in centers that foster community connections and advance health for all. Across five sites, each supported by unique community-academic partnerships, she has expanded involvement beyond nursing students to include students and faculty from multiple disciplines. To date, the Health Commons has welcomed more than 150,000 visits and engaged over 3,000 students. Nationally recognized as a replicable framework for equity-focused, community-embedded education, the Health Commons illustrates how urban universities can serve as hubs of both academic excellence and community justice.
“The work I am able to engage in in my role at Augsburg University at the Health Commons stands as a living embodiment of innovation in education, as a demonstration of our university’s mission in action, and a catalyst for change for both students and the communities it serves for over thirty years,” said Clark.
As a scholar-administrator, Dr. Clark is a resource for nursing programs and university leaders across the country seeking models for integrating community engagement into their programs. Her leadership has influenced healthcare institutions, public policy, and the development of emerging nurses.
“My scholarly work has been rooted in the development and implementation of educational experiences that enable students not only to gain knowledge and understanding of issues related to inequities, but also to take action to address them,” said Clark.
In her role as chair of the Nursing Department and chief nursing administrator at Augsburg University, Dr. Clark has led curriculum revisions to align with new American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials, reflecting the department’s mission to advance health equity and inclusivity. As an associate professor, she teaches graduate nursing courses focused on social justice, health inequities, and civic engagement.
“Barbara Holland championed a vision of higher education leadership that was intellectually rigorous, publicly engaged, and community-accountable. Dr. Katie Clark lives out that vision every day,” said President Pribbenow, Augsburg University.
The Holland Scholar selection committee, composed of current and former presidents and chancellors of CUMU member institutions, identified Dr. Clark as a distinguished scholar-administrator, like Dr. Holland, whose leadership and intellectual voice illuminates the transformative power of urban and metropolitan higher education.
“At the core of my leadership is a conviction that scholarship must center community engagement and ignite transformative action. I have built my career at the intersection of academic rigor and radical care, of evidence and humility,” said Clark. “I am inspired by Dr. Holland’s idea of what is possible when we center justice in both the scholarship we pursue and the institutions we shape.”
Dr. Clark is a 2025 Fellow of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s Elevating Leaders in Academic Nursing (ELAN) program, serves as a volunteer to help AACN develop the new Ecosystem of Excellence in Academic Nursing Toolkit, and was selected by the Minnesota Association of Registered Nurses as their 2025 fellow to the National American Nurses’ Advocacy Institute (AACN). She also serves on multiple university committees and received Augsburg University’s 2021 Distinguished Contributions to Service Award. This coming November, Dr. Clark and her colleagues will be receiving AACN’s Innovations in Professional Nursing Award in the Small/Liberal Arts Schools Category, a national award recognizing outstanding efforts of nurse educators in transforming traditional models for nursing education and leading programmatic change
She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and both her Master of Arts in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice from Augsburg University with an emphasis in Transcultural Nursing Leadership.
Weber State University sponsored the 2025 Barbara A. Holland Scholar-Administrator Award and provided an introduction to Clark’s acceptance of the award at the 2025 CUMU Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.