Mecca S. Cranley, Dean of School of Nursing, Dies at 67

BUFFALO -- Mecca S. Cranley, Ph.D., dean of the University at Buffalo School of Nursing since 1991, died Nov. 20 in the hospice unit at Sister's Hospital in Buffalo, surrounded by her family.

The cause was multiple myeloma, cancer of the bone marrow. She was 67.

Cranley was the university's senior dean when she stepped down from her position in November due to her illness.

Speaking for the university, President John B. Simpson said the UB community was deeply saddened by Cranley's passing. 

"She was a lovely person and extraordinary leader, and she will be sorely missed, both as a friend and colleague," he said. "Her passing is a tremendous loss for our academic community, but she has left a legacy of excellence, innovation, and vision that will have an enduring impact on UB's nursing school and the university at large.  She has made a lasting difference in the lives of so many individuals here at UB and in our larger communities, and for that we are deeply grateful."

Satish K. Tripathi, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, called Cranley "an exceptional individual." He noted her dedication to UB, to her faculty and her genuine care and compassion for her students.

"Her progressive approach to nursing education and her mission to improve the health and well-being of members of the broader communities through a sustained focus on innovative interdisciplinary nursing research and clinical education will inspire those who follow in her footsteps," he said.

"Mecca will be greatly missed," Tripathi continued, "but my colleagues and I are comforted by the knowledge that her understanding, wisdom, and true passion for the broad field of nursing and nursing education will live on through countless students. They will carry forward these values into their professional roles as health-care practitioners, senior health-care administrators, faculty, and university leaders."

Jean K. Brown, Ph.D., interim dean of the UB nursing school and Cranley's associate dean, said: "Mecca was respected and loved by the faculty, students, and staff of the School of Nursing. During the 16 years of her deanship, she made significant advances in our research enterprise, led the development of new educational programs to address shortages in the professional nurse and nurse faculty workforces, and was a champion of professional nursing in the region, state, and nation.

"A hallmark of her administrative style was an insistence on high standards combined with genuine compassion for others. Her graciousness and generosity will long be remembered."

Her family remembers her best as a warm, loving, brilliant and witty woman, who was an accomplished composer of silly limericks, a dedicated girl-scout-cookie lady, swim-meet timer, creative casserole chef, collector of ridiculous puns and "World's Greatest Mom."

"Mecca Cranley and her husband Edward were an outstanding model for children of a loving, committed marriage and positive parenting," they added.

A native of Guthrie, Okla., Cranley graduated from St. Mary's College in Indiana and earned master's and doctorate degrees from the University of Wisconsin. She held nurse-instructor positions at hospitals in South Bend, Ind., and in Tulsa, Okla., and Oklahoma City, before joining the faculty at the University of Wisconsin in 1972. She was professor and associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing when she was recruited by UB.

During Cranley's 15 years as dean, the nursing school increased its enrollment through several innovative new academic degree and certificate programs, and aggressively pursued research dollars. The school jumped from 73rd to 43rd among U.S. nursing schools in National Institutes of Health funding during her tenure.

Highly respected in her field, Cranley was a member of the board of governors of the Healthcare Trustees of New York State, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the governance of New York's non-profit and public health care facilities. She was active in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, where she chaired task forces and authored the position papers on violence as a public health problem and on the place of the American with Disabilities Act in nursing education.

Her professional activities also included memberships on the National Council on Family Relations, Sigma Theta Tau – the national nursing honor society, the National Perinatal Association, the Childbirth and Parent Educational Association and the Wisconsin Association for Perinatal Care.

Cranley authored many articles and book chapters on issues related to maternal and child health, her specialty, and was a vocal advocate for the nursing profession. A member of the Commission on Nursing Education, she served on several committees and was an on-site evaluator of university-based nursing programs.

She was active in the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, serving on several national committees.

Cranley is survived by her husband, Edward, and their seven children: Martha Cranley (Larry Martin); Paul (Suzy), Patrick (Susan), Anne Cranley Higgins (Timothy), Elizabeth Cranley, Philip (Gabriel), and Peter Cranley, and 15 grandchildren.

The wake will be held on Friday, Nov. 24, from 5 – 8 p.m. at Amigone Funeral Home, 5200 Sheridan Dr., Amherst. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 11 a.m. Saturday in St. Joseph's University Church, 3269 Main St., Buffalo.

The family has requested that friends give blood and/or donate to the Mecca S. Cranley School of Nursing Memorial Fund, which the university has established in her memory.