Kerri Schuiling, former NMU president and provost and current special advisor to the provost, has been awarded the American College of Nurse-Midwives’ Lifetime Visionary Award.
Schuiling is a midwifery clinician, educator, scholar and global advocate whose decades of leadership have shaped the profession and advanced maternal and child health. She received ACNM’s Kitty Ernst Award in 2001 and has continued to serve the profession through her many roles.
A leader in workforce research, Schuiling helped design and publish ACNM’s core membership surveys. She partnered with the American Midwifery Certification Board to develop the Midwifery Masterfile, the most comprehensive database ever assembled on midwifery students, CNMs and CMs. She is also the author and editor of Women’s Gynecologic Health, widely regarded as the gold standard for midwifery practice in gynecologic care, which has educated generations of midwives.
Schuiling is committed to equity and inclusion, particularly through her partnerships with Indigenous communities and her national and global initiatives. Her international service includes leading the ICM Research Standing Committee, serving as a founding co-editor of the International Journal of Childbirth and co-authoring the landmark Lancet Global Health Series on midwifery’s role in reducing maternal morbidity and mortality.
As she worked her way at NMU from faculty member to department chair, provost and then president, Schuillling never stepped away from midwifery. She helped establish ACNM’s Michigan chapter, has served her midwifery alma mater for more than three decades and now sits on its board of directors. Throughout her career she has led with the midwifery values of listening, centering the people served, and careful, deliberate review before acting.