May Wykle, PhD, RN, FAAN

May L. Wykle, PhD, RN, FAAN is Dean and Cellar Professor of Gerontological Nursing at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, and Director of the University Center on Aging and Health at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Wykle was on sabbatical leave for the 1999-2000 academic year being selected as the first recipient of the "Pope Eminent Scholar" at the Rosalynn Carter Institute in Americus, Georgia. In 1999, Dr. Wykle was elected as President-Elect of Sigma Theta Tau International.

She received her BSN, MSN and PhD degrees from Case Western Reserve University. She was a recipient of an NIMH Geriatric Mental Health Academic Award, and Director of a five year Robert Wood Johnson Teaching Nursing Home Project. Dr. Wykle's research interests include: geriatric mental health, self care behaviors among aged cohorts, family caregiving, stresses and strains in elderly physical health, and self-care and compliance of chronically ill aged. She recently completed a four-year study funded by the National Center for Nursing Research (NIH) on Black vs. White Caregivers' Formal/ Informal Service Use, and a three-year study funded by NIA on MD Style, Self-Care and Compliance of Chronically Ill Aged. She has been project director of several training grants, including geriatric mental health, home health care initiative, geriatric mental health nursing initiative, and a nursing assistant training program. She has served on numerous advisory boards and as a consultant to local and national organizations. She currently serves on both a NIA research review committee and the Geriatric/Gerontology Advisory Committee for the Veterans Administration.

Recently, Dr. Wykle received the Doris Schwartz Nursing Research Award from the Gerontological Society of America, the Belle Sherwin Award for "Distinguished Nursing Professional of the Year" by the Cleveland Visiting Nurse Association, the "Leadership Award for Excellence in Geriatric Care" from the Midwest Alliance in Nursing, the Distinguished Nurse-Scholar Lecturer at the National Council for Nursing Research--NIA, the "Nursing Educator Award" from the New Cleveland Woman magazine, the "Out-standing Researcher in the State of Ohio" from the Ohio Research Council on Aging, and the Humanitarian Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Nursing Profession. She was a delegate and served on the Planning Committee of the 1993 White House Conference on Aging.

Dr. Wykle has written numerous articles, chapters, and books. Five recent edited books are Decision Making in Long-Term Care; Practicing Rehabilitation with Geriatric Clients; Stress and Health Among the Elderly, Family Caregiving Across the Lifespan, and Serving Minority Elders in the 21st Century. She is a Fellow of the Academy of American Nurses and the Gerontological Society of America.