Larry Z. Slater

Larry Slater has an adventurous spirit. Before becoming a nurse, he traveled the world working as a dancer on a cruise line. After a few years, he decided he needed a more “normal” life back on land. A friend sent him a newspaper article about the shortage of nurses in Birmingham, Alabama, where he was planning to move. “So I thought I could try that,” he said. “If I didn’t like it, I could just move on to something else.”

Obviously Slater found his calling because now, at age 46, he serves as a dedicated nurse educator. He credits STTI with instilling in him the confidence and courage necessary to excel. “I honestly feel like I owe my entire nursing career to STTI and the mentors that I have gained through my involvement with the organization,” says Slater.

Slater was inspired to join STTI as an undergraduate. He participated in several pre-professional and professional organizations as a student and was excited about joining an international group of nurse scholars. Planning to pursue his PhD, he felt STTI would offer plentiful opportunities for networking and development.

Slater was inducted into Nu Chapter at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Birmingham, Ala., USA, in 2008. While he maintains his membership in Nu, he also belongs to the Upsilon Chapter at New York University in New York, N.Y., USA, where he currently works, and the Phi Gamma Virtual Chapter, for which he was a founding member.

His leadership roles have been numerable. At the chapter level, Slater has served as membership ambassador, president-elect, and President of Nu, and vice president and president-elect of Upsilon. Regionally, he served as a co-chair of the Membership Ambassadors and chair of the Communications Committee for Region 8. At the international level, he participated on a number of committees, including the Virtual Chapter Work Group, which led to the creation of Phi Gamma; Membership Ambassadors Task Force; Clinical Partnership Task Force; and the Chapter Charter Review Task Force. Additionally, he helped judge international awards, including the Clinical Partnership Awards and Chapter Key Awards. He is currently a scholar in the Nurse Faculty Leadership Academy (NFLA).

“Since my induction, STTI has been my professional organization of choice … I have participated in chapter level research, education, and service programs; regional conferences and service projects; and international conventions, including the Biennial Convention, the International Nursing Research Congress, and the Nursing Education Research Conference,” says Slater. “I never would have dreamed that one organization could provide me with outstanding programs, experiences, and networking to develop my skills and knowledge to become a leader in nursing, but STTI has proven me wrong — providing me with that and so much more.”

Slater cherishes his role as a nurse educator, working with pre-licensure students to help them develop their passion for the nursing profession and become leaders in their own right. “STTI provides nurses (and student nurses) at all levels with the tools to become leaders in their chosen fields. I encourage all members to take advantage of everything STTI has to offer!”