50 Years of Dreaming, Discovering & Delivering Will Propel Even Greater Impact and Innovation for the Future
Since it is our anniversary, it is not only a great time to reflect upon and celebrate the remarkable achievements of our outstanding College over the past 50 years, but a time to envision what we want our College to be, look like and accomplish in the next half century. I have been privileged to have the wonderful opportunity to know the former deans and have many terrific conversations with them about what our College was like throughout the past five decades as well as what it was like for them to provide leadership for the College in their eras. My conversations with our first dean, Loretta Bardewyck, who sadly passed away recently, will always be treasured. She was such a pioneer with an incredible determined spirit and a remarkable leader, who made a huge positive impact on nursing education and the profession.
I also have had many occasions to talk with alumni and professor emeriti over the past three years about their education and experiences in our College and University, including great conversations with the first graduates of our baccalaureate and master’s programs. A few themes have emerged from all of these conversations. First, it is apparent that our College, with its amazing, dedicated faculty, staff, students and alums, have long been pioneers of cutting-edge innovations, from a cadre of novel teaching strategies that facilitate the highest quality of education for our students to the nation’s first academic nurse practitioner managed health center. Second, our College has long delivered what it has promised, including the highest quality of academic programming for students across all levels, outstanding healthcare to the community, and cutting-edge research to guide evidence-based practice. Third, it has been so obvious that not only has our College dreamed, discovered and delivered a multitude of innovations over the past 50 years, but it has done so in a context of tremendous caring and encouragement, taking into consideration that each student is unique and has his or her own special needs and strengths that need to be met and fostered so that the end outcome is not only a superb nurse, but an individual of the highest integrity who leads innovation in whatever role is chosen after graduation.
As you read the upcoming edition of ASU Nursing, you will see that we are not only continuing, but rapidly accelerating ground-breaking innovations in our College, which is made possible by the strong foundation built by our former deans, faculty, students and great alumni over the past 50 years. I am very proud of our: newly funded Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence with its awesome leadership and “out-of the box” initiatives that will improve healthcare for older adults in our community, state, region and nation through the preparation of more stellar geriatric nursing faculty; newly funded National Institutes of Health research grants by our faculty that will improve health outcomes for some of the most vulnerable populations; newly funded HRSA grants that have launched the nation’s first graduate/post-master’s certificate in child and adolescent mental health that will improve access to healthcare for children and teens who would not otherwise receive treatment and the first stroke fellowship program for advanced practice nurses that will prepare healthcare providers to quickly identify and provide life-saving interventions to stroke patients.
Over the past few months, we have been creating a videotape with the five deans, which will capture the rich history of our College throughout the past 50 years. During my recent interview for the videotape, I was asked “What do you want to leave behind as your legacy for the college?” Although that question evoked many emotions in me as it is surreal to think about what it is that you want to leave behind for others, my response came easy. I want to leave behind the most innovative, collaborative College in the globe and a phenomenal enduring culture for our students, faculty and staff - one in which everyone’s dreams are cultivated, not taken away by skepticism; one in which everyone is encouraged daily to discover new innovations and to take risks, no matter how challenging the journey; and one in which individuals are cared about and supported until they deliver what it is that they promised so that their dreams can become a reality and make a significant impact for the health of the people for whom we care.
I am very blessed to be the fifth dean of this remarkable College and express my deepest thanks and gratitude to our past and current faculty, staff, students, and alums who have and continue to make this College a very special, innovative, and different place, one in which our name, the ASU College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation, and tagline of Dream, Discover, and Deliver are not only mere words, but they are our way of life.
Warm Regards,
Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP/NPP, FAAN, FNAP
Dean and Distinguished Foundation Professor in Nursing
