North Carolina State Senator Gale Adcock will deliver the Duke University School of Nursing 2023 Spring Hooding and Graduation Ceremony address on Sunday, May 14, 2023, at 6 p.m. in the historic Cameron Indoor Stadium. The in-person event is for graduates and their families and friends; the event, including Adcock’s speech, will be also be livestreamed.

Senator Adcock, who is serving her first term in the NC Senate after four terms in the House, is a board-certified family nurse practitioner of 36 years, the first advanced practice registered nurse elected to the NC legislature, and the first nurse to serve in the NC Senate.

“The Duke School of Nursing is taking big steps to shift how we envision the nursing profession. We are excited to hear Senator Adcock speak to our graduates about how nurses can act as leaders and agents of healthcare transformation,” said Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, PhD, MPH, LCSW, RN, ANP-BC, PMHNP-BC, FAAN, dean, Duke University School of Nursing, vice chancellor, nursing affairs, Duke University.

More About the Speaker
Gale Adcock is serving her first term in the NC Senate after eight years in the NC House and seven years on the Cary, NC town council. Now in her 16th year of elected office, Senator Adcock believes that nurses’ skill in patient advocacy is a roadmap for influencing policy at every level of government.

The senator has a nursing diploma from Virginia Baptist Hospital, a BSN from East Carolina University, and an MSN and FNP certificate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the former chief health officer for global software company SAS. She is a former president of the NC Nurses Association, past chair of the NCNA Council of Nurse Practitioners, past chair of the NC Center for Nursing, and a former member of the NC Board of Nursing.  Senator Adcock is a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Foundation for Women Legislators. Additionally, she served as a DUSON consulting associate and a previous member of the Board of Visitors from 2013-2020.

For more information on the Spring Hooding and Graduation Ceremony, please visit https://duke.is/5gqsh