For the last 35 years, Director of the School of Nursing Lucy Huckabay has been the life and leader of the nursing program.
On Saturday, Huckabay was honored with the 2014 Soroptimist Award for Women of Distinction in the field of nursing education, which is awarded to “Women Who Make a Difference” in their specialized fields.
The award was presented at a luncheon hosted by Chi Eta Phi Sorority Inc.’s Southwest Regional Conference at the Renaissance Long Beach Hotel.
One way in which Huckabay made a difference was by increasing the size of the CSULB nursing program after California experienced a severe shortage of nurses in 2004, Huckabay said.
“How do I make a difference? Little by little,” Huckabay said about the award.
U.S. nursing schools turned away 32,797 qualified applicants from undergraduate and graduate nursing programs in 2004 due to an insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, clinical preceptors and budget constraints, according to a 2004-05 American Association of Colleges of Nursing report. The shortages also caused several hospitals to close patient care units.
Huckabay helped triple the size of the nursing program from 325 students in 2004 to 1,017 in 2014 by fostering partnerships with organizations such as Long Beach Memorial Hospital and Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The partnerships ultimately helped produce more nurses for understaffed hospitals, which then donated funds to the nursing program, Huckabay said.
“I had to learn on the job how to be a fundraiser,” Huckabay said. “I think I’ve been very good at it.”
Gradually, through state funding as well as partnerships and other contributions, Huckabay said she also helped secure funding for a new 10,800 square-foot School of Nursing facility, which opened in 2010 and gave the program three more classrooms and a computer lab.
“It’s not just what you promise, you have to deliver,” Huckabay said about the partnerships. “I put my life behind those promises.”
Cal State Long Beach students pass their registered nurse licensing exam approximately 98 percent of the time and that the School of Nursing’s retention rate and graduation rate are higher than 90 percent, Huckabay said.
Huckabay said she believes the choices she has made throughout her life have influenced her own career.
“I am a person who takes risks — calculated risks, not foolish risks,” Huckabay said. “I like to go where others have not gone … sometimes they accuse me of not taking ‘No’ for an answer.”
Colleagues of Huckabay’s said she has been a great leader to those who work in her department.
“She’s a wonderful lady,” said Maureen Bykerk, an instructional support technician at the School of Nursing. “This department, honestly, wouldn’t be the same without her.”
Assistant Director Beth Keely said that Huckabay has done a lot of things in her career that have made her stand out.
“I think she is recognized in the community as a real leader in nursing,” Keely said. “We do have one of the biggest programs in the state right now and she’s really gone after a lot of additional funding to help support the school.”
Additionally, Keely said that Huckabay’s award is an incredible accomplishment, not just for Huckabay, but for CSULB as well.
“I think it’s a terrific honor,” Keely said. “I think it’s a very prestigious award as far as the school is concerned. It kind of reflects on the school when you have somebody in your organization who has received something like that.”
Outside of CSULB, Huckabay has served as a World Health Organization consultant to establish international nursing programs in countries including Oman and Armenia.
Huckabay said her husband helps her to make a difference in education.
“I think I have a husband who tells me to dream big,” she said. “I think I am good at that.”