Patricia Sawyer Benner, Ph.D., 2009 Tiger of the Year

The Board of Directors of the Chaffey High School Alumni Association is proud to announce that Dr. Patricia Sawyer Benner, Class of 1960, has been selected as the 2009 Tiger of the Year. Dr. Benner was nominated by Garry Smith, CHS '60.

After graduating from Chaffey, Patricia completed her education by earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in nursing from Pasadena College; a Master of Science degree in medical-surgical nursing from the University of California San Francisco School of Nursing; and a Doctorate in Education: Stress, Coping and Health from the University of California at Berkeley in 1982.

In her early career she held positions of staff nurse or head nurse at various hospitals and medical centers. After receiving her Ph.D. she became a professor in the School of Nursing at UCSF where she continued to teach and conduct research until her retirement in 2008.

Patricia's entire career has been in the nursing field. In over three decades of research and scholarship, she has made several unique contributions to the discipline of nursing, including nursing theory, research and practice. She is considered a contemporary leader in the interpretation and explanation of nursing as a practice discipline and has been credited with developing a "practical" theory of nursing.

As part of her research career, Patricia has published several books, some of which won a Book of the Year award from the American Journal of Nursing and were translated into more than six different languages. As a result of her first book, the Royal College of Nursing conferred upon Patricia an honorary Fellowship.

Dr. Benner was selected to lead the National Nursing Education Research Project of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement in Teaching. The study of nursing education was part of a larger project that examined preparation for the professions of law, medicine and the clergy. The project was the first national study of nursing education in the past 30 years.

In addition to her professional activities, Patricia has been active in community service, both in Oakland and for the State of California. In retirement she remains active in nursing education and research. A colleague at UCSF School of Nursing describes Patricia as "a consummate scholar. She has contributed to the discipline of nursing through her many written works, through years of teaching and mentorship and via her leadership in national and international arenas. I cannot name another nurse in the world who has had a similar positive influence on nursing as a science and a practice."

Patricia will be present at the Baccalaureate service for the Class of 2009 on June 7, 2009 where she will deliver an inspirational message to the graduating seniors. This will be followed by a reception in her honor on campus.

Patricia joins these other distinguished alumni in the Tiger Hall of Fame: Howard Tipton '54; Robert Shaw '33; Betty Davenport Ford '42; Joseph Wambaugh '54; Howard P. Allen '44; H. Jack Meany '41' John S. Graettinger, M.D. '39; Ernest Payne '25; Harold "Tony" Zenz '28; Robert Lyn Nelson '73; Kobe Shoji, Ph.D. '38; Samuel P. Crowe '53; Hobart "Hobie" Alter '51' John Svenson '42; Anthony Munoz '76; Alan Paul Haskvitz '60; Margaret Sanders Stewart '39; Henry Bumstead '33; John Dean, Ph.D. '44; Glenn Goldsmith '46; Jim Brulte '74; Philo Biane '28; Robert Graber '31; Gary Ovitt '65; James McVicker, Jr. '70; Clyde Francisco '45, Rear Admiral James Davidson '56, Bruce Grube, Ph.D.'60, Richard Jones, Ph.D. '51, Ed Berryman '38, Leonard Mather, Ed.D '35, and Don Morris, Ed.D. '48.Version:1.0 The Board of Directors of the Chaffey High School Alumni Association is proud to announce that Dr. Patricia Sawyer Benner, Class of 1960, has been selected as the 2009 Tiger of the Year. Dr. Benner was nominated by Garry Smith, CHS '60.