2022 Alumni Award for Professional Excellence
Bachelor of Arts, 1987
Master of Education (Honours), 1989
Over more than two exceptional decades as a healthcare professional and academic leader, Professor John Daly has considerably advanced the nursing profession in Australia and internationally.
John was Foundational Head of the School of Nursing at Western Sydney University from 1996 to 2008, responsible for the establishment, academic leadership and strategic management of Australia’s largest undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing Program. He led the amalgamation of schools across three Western Sydney campuses into the new School of Nursing, Family and Community Health, building a thriving research culture and garnering a reputation for innovation and excellence.
In 2008, John was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health at the University of Technology Sydney, home to Australia’s largest nursing and midwifery professoriate. He led the development of the UTS/World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Development, working extensively with WHO to develop nursing and midwifery health planning and build leadership capacity and research-based education to strengthen quality of care globally.
Made Emeritus Professor by Western Sydney University and the University of Technology Sydney for his contributions, John is also a Fellow of the Australasian College of Nursing and the American Academy of Nursing. Among his numerous appointments, he was a Director of the International Network for Doctoral Education in Nursing, Secretary-General of the Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for Nursing and Midwifery, Chair of the Global Alliance for Leadership in Nursing Education and Science (GANES), and the only Australian nurse appointed to Sigma Theta Tau International Global Advisory Panel on the Future of Nursing. He is also a prodigious author and editor.
In 2020, John became Head of School and Dean at the University of Sydney Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery where he drove collaborative engagement in nursing and midwifery education and research.
Chancellor, with outstanding commitment and strategic leadership, Professor John Daly has brought increased recognition to the global nursing profession and inspired countless generations of nurses.
It is with pleasure that I present Professor John Daly for the Alumni Award for Professional Excellence.