It is with great sadness that University of Alberta Faculty of Nursing announces the death of Dr. June Kikuchi, professor emerita, on September 6, 2014.
June Kikuchi completed a BScN at the University of Toronto in 1962, an MN at the University of Pittsburgh in 1969 and a PhD in Nursing from the University of Pittsburgh in 1979. In 1985 - 1986, she completed postdoctoral studies in philosophy at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Kikuchi was first appointed to the Faculty in 1979 in a joint appointment with the University of Alberta Hospitals (UAH) as a clinical nurse researcher, helping to develop a clinical nursing research program at UAH. Her own research focused on the impact on children of parental chronic illness. Her teaching activities ranged from teaching clinical nursing at the undergraduate and graduate levels to developing and teaching nursing philosophy courses at the masters and doctoral levels.
In 1988, along with Dr. Helen Simmons, Dr. Kikuchi co-founded the Institute for Philosophical Nursing Research-now the Unit for Philosophical Nursing Research-at the University of Alberta. She served as the Institute's first Director. She co-edited three books on nursing philosophy with Dr. Simmons.
After retiring from the Faculty of Nursing, Dr. Kikuchi continued to work and publish in the area of nursing philosophy. In 2004, she was awarded an honorary nursing degree by Laval University for her contributions to nursing philosophy.
"June's contributions and influence on the area of philosophical inquiry in nursing have left us with a remarkable and lasting legacy," said Anita Molzahn, dean of the Faculty of Nursing. "Her work has influenced nurse scholars around the world, and I am sure that she would feel gratified to hear the messages from former graduate students who have valued her mentorship and warmly recalled her insightful questions on the essence of nursing and nursing knowledge."
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