Congratulations to Brother Ignatius Perkins!

One of Aquinas College’s beloved former colleagues, Brother Ignatius Perkins, OP, has been named a “Living Legend” by the American Academy of Nursing – the Academy’s highest honor. In addition, he is a recent recipient of the National League of Nursing’s Lifetime Achievement for Transformative Excellence Award with over sixty years of service in his profession.

We knew Brother Ignatius best when he was Dean of the School of Nursing at Aquinas College from 2010-2015. While he was with us in that capacity, the Aquinas Nursing program expanded in size and scope, offering both graduate and undergraduate programs of study in the field.

Brother Ignatius’s long and distinguished career includes numerous achievements beyond our borders, with the recurring theme of the essential dignity of the human person, especially our dearest brothers and sisters, the poor, the homeless, and the indigent sick among us. Highlights of his career are only hinted at in his many academic degrees and professional credentials that follow his name in an impressive alphabet soup of abbreviations and titles: PhD, RN, ANEF, FRSM, FNYAM, FNCBC, FAAN, Director, Martin de Porres Center for Health and Human Dignity, Providence College, School of Nursing and Health Sciences. The announcement of his upcoming award offers a brief description of some significant projects from his career including his leadership on the development of the “National League for Nursing’s Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation, which now accredits over 200 nursing schools globally,” according to the July 2025 American Academy press release.

The Living Legend Award is scheduled to be awarded in Washington, DC in October 2025 at the American Academy of Nursing’s Annual Conference. Congratulations, Brother Ignatius, and Thank you!