Associate Dean Brigit M. Carter, PhD, MSN, RN, CCRN, FAAN, was awarded the Individual Excellence recognition for this year’s Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Awards for Excellence in Social Mission in Health Professions Education for her innovative initiatives and accomplishments as associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion and professor at the Duke University School of Nursing. The award was presented at the Beyond Flexner 2022 Conference in Phoenix on Monday, March 28, 2022. 

Presented by The Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University and the Beyond Flexner Alliance, the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Awards recognize outstanding leadership in promoting social mission in health professions education. The award process defines social mission “as activities or initiatives that teach, model or improve community engagement, diversity, disparities reduction, value-based care or engagement with the social determinants of health.” 

The School of Nursing is committed to reducing health inequities, mitigating negative impacts of social determinants of health and dismantling structural racism. In order to advance these goals externally, the faculty, staff and students regularly engage in discussions around race, diversity and social justice. Under Carter’s leadership, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) continuously creates opportunities to have these conversations and become more educated through such activities as hosting events and workshops. In 2020, ODEI, in partnership with the Dean’s Office, began the Racial Justice Task Force for faculty, staff and students to develop and/or make recommendations on individual and system structures needing improvement in order to address racial injustices and/or inequities within the school.  

“Dr. Carter has led the effort for enhancing cultural awareness and addressing equity and inclusion issues, demonstrating a sustained commitment to excellence in communicating justice and improving cultural understanding, while cultivating mutually respectful relationships among students, faculty and staff,” said Anne L. Derouin, DNP, RN, CPNP, FAANP, assistant dean, Master of Science in Nursing Program, and professor. “Humbly but with clear conviction, she continues to be a transformational service leader, bringing students and professionals to the forefront of positive change among the health care workforce.” 

Carter joined the school in 2010 as an instructor and has served as associate dean of ODEI since 2018. While in her prior position as program director of the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program, she introduced holistic admissions processes to assess students more comprehensively instead of solely relying on metrics like grades and test scores. 

In 2017, she become the first nurse faculty member to receive the Duke University Excellence in Diversity and Equity Award for her exemplary contributions to promoting equity and inclusion on campus. When Carter was promoted to her current position, she hit the ground running with initiating changes to further promote diversity and inclusion throughout the school. 

For nearly a decade, she has served as project director for three major HRSA-funded initiatives: Make a Difference in Nursing (MADIN) and the Health Equity Academy (HEA) I and II, which has recruited, admitted, retained and supported underrepresented nursing students to Duke. ODEI’s mentorship opportunities have expanded to include efforts to provide ongoing mentorship to facilitate students’ integration into and completion of a health profession program and to increase nursing students' readiness for successful entry into advanced practice nursing programs in addition to connecting undergraduate Black nursing students with Duke Health clinical staff nurses.

"As one of the first Black PhD-prepared nursing faculty at Duke, she’s been the unrelenting model of resilience, excellence and responsiveness, fearlessly leading our community through historical social changes and enriching us as an effervescent cheerleader and spokeswoman for nursing leadership,” Derouin said. 

Carter completed a Health Equity Fellowship at George Washington University in 2018 and a Transformational Leadership Fellowship in 2019 and serves on the Executive Board of the Beyond Flexnor Organization. 

"To have received this award is an achievement in and of itself and reflects the deepening breadth of the School's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion," Carter said. “When I accepted this award, I was reminded of the challenges and barriers that we had to overcome, but that were not done in silo. Any award is naturally extended to the Duke School of Nursing faculty, staff and students.  We have improved representation within our faculty, staff and student bodies and amplified conversations and efforts needed for our collective school community to go out and work to dismantle structural racism and mitigate the negative impacts social determinants of health are having on our patients, their loved ones and on society as a whole. To see the overall work being done at the School is deeply rewarding and satisfying, and I'm honored to help charge those efforts.”