Lewis reviews state of the nursing school

School of Nursing Dean Marsha Lewis recently reviewed the school’s accomplishments during her annual State of the Nursing School address.

Lewis’ address covered news and events from 2014-15, underlining everything from new faculty and enrollment to student community service.

Founded in 1936 as a division of the School of Medicine, the nursing school is now home to 64 faculty members, more than 400 students, and six graduate and undergraduate programs.

“The School of Nursing is in the midst of a five-year strategic plan,” Lewis told faculty, staff and students who gathered for the briefing. “As we measure our accomplishments and move toward attaining our goals, the faculty and staff are working tirelessly to continue positioning the school to meet the future needs of our students and alumni.”

Highlights from the address include:

• U.S. News & World Report ranked the school’s RN-BS online program 136th among the best online bachelor’s programs.
  
• Faculty member Carol Brewer was named a SUNY Distinguished Professor, Suzanne Dickerson was promoted to full professor and Associate Professor Deborah Raines was granted tenure.
• Grace Dean, Yu-Ping Chang and Robin Lally were promoted to associate professors with tenure.
• The school added six staff members and five new full-time faculty members — two assistant professors and three clinical assistant professors.
• The school was awarded more than $500,000 in research funding in 2014. An additional $1.2 million in funds are pending approval.
• Twenty-one faculty members published 52 publications, with some collaborations with researchers in Taiwan, Spain and the United Kingdom.
• The first-time passing rate for the class of 2014 for the NCLEX — an exam required to receive a nursing license — was 92.5 percent overall, with a traditional BS program pass rate of 88.5 percent and an accelerated BS program pass rate of 98 percent.
• More than $500,000 in scholarships and traineeships was awarded to students.
• The school received more than $1.2 million in academic program funding, including a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Education Nursing Traineeship and an HRSA Education Grant that total more than $1 million.
• The master’s program in nursing leadership admitted its first international student, Shahrzad Nowzari from Saudi Arabia.