University Names Newtowner Interim Dean At School of Nursing

FAIRFIELD — Suzanne Campbell, PhD, WHNP-BC, associate dean for academic programs of Fairfield University’s School of Nursing, has been named interim dean of the school.

Dr Campbell, of Newtown, will assume the position at the close of this academic year, in the place of Jeanne M. Novotny, PhD, RN, FAAN, who decided to step down from the position after ten years of exemplary and groundbreaking leadership.

A Fairfield faculty member for the past 11 years, Dr Campbell will hold the post for the 2011-2012 academic year while Fairfield conducts a national search for a full-time dean. Her appointment comes at a time of remarkable growth at the School of Nursing, evidenced in part by the school entering its second year of offering clinical doctorate programs.

Dr Campbell is looking forward to shepherding the school through further growth, citing such initiatives as pediatric palliative care curriculum development and expanding international learning opportunities for students in India, Korea, and Ireland.

“I’m in awe of the support of my colleagues who have made me feel that together, we can continue to move the school forward,” Dr Campbell said.

Dr Campbell, associate professor of nursing, has long served many roles at Fairfield. Inspired by the Jesuit mission and possessing infectious enthusiasm, she has been a leader at the School of Nursing, as project director of the Robin Kanarek ’96 Learning Resource Center, a state-of-the-art simulated hospital environment where students learn and practice basic to advanced nursing skills.

She is also director of the school’s graduate programs, which now include doctorate programs among them.

Dr Campbell has distinguished herself as a scholar and a clinician. She is co-editor of the book Simulation Scenarios for Nurse Educators: Making it Real, which has been translated into Korean. She has been certified as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant since 2001.

The recognitions that she has received over the years include her recent induction into the Nursing Academy of the National Academies of Practice, an organization influential at the national level in projects promoting interdisciplinary health care. It provides expert advice to public policy makers on health care issues, using its unique perspective — that of expert practitioners and scholars joined in interdisciplinary dialogue.

Last month, Dr Campbell also won the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning’s Excellence in the Academic Setting Award — Mentoring category, after she was nominated by the nursing faculty.