2022 Outstanding Faculty Service
Loucine M. Huckabay, MSN, Ph.D.
California State University, Long Beach
Director and Professor, School of Nursing
I like to think big and have adopted Walt Disney’s philosophy: 'If you can dream it, you can do it.' "
Throughout her 42-year tenure at California State University, Long Beach, Dr. Loucine Huckabay has been a strong supporter and advocate for all students, especially those from historically underserved backgrounds. She is well known for mentoring students struggling academically, or those whose home or work situations interfere with their academic success. Her efforts include soliciting grants to help recruit and support Black and Latinx nurses pursuing master’s degrees in the Family Nurse Practitioner Program, many of whom ultimately provide much-needed patient care in underserved areas.
Dr. Huckabay’s years of university service encompass a wide array of work, ranging from serving on committees at school, college and university levels, to acting as the primary writer for four successful national and five state-level accreditation studies for the School of Nursing. She has served on Cal State Long Beach’s Academic Senate for two decades and functioned as chair of the College of Health and Human Services’ Retention, Tenure and Promotion Committee for seven consecutive years.
Evidence of her passion for the university’s School of Nursing can be seen in her extraordinary fundraising efforts. Leveraging her years of service within the healthcare community, Dr. Huckabay established partnerships with local hospitals and medical facilities to raise $3.3 million toward a new nursing building. Matching funds from the university’s Office of the President made the new building a reality in 2010. In total, she has raised $42.5 million for the School of Nursing.
Dr. Huckabay’s outstanding service extends to business and industry, public and private healthcare organizations, and local, state and international institutions. She has provided services to hospitals and healthcare agencies throughout the Southland and worked to improve the quality of nursing education in developing countries. Her thoughtfully developed undergraduate nursing programs are now functioning at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman and Erebouni College of Nursing in Armenia. Dr. Huckabay has volunteered as a nurse educator to diabetic and hypertensive patients in Armenian villages for the last nine years.