Access to Excellence - College of Health and Public Affairs ...

Message from the DirectorNew Beginnings and ProminentPathways for NursingAs the new director of the School of Nursingat the University of Central Florida, I ampleased to share my new beginning withour Þ rst publication from the school. I havejoined this exciting university and the schoolat an extraordinary time. The school recentlylaunched a new doctoral program in nursing andan accelerated B.S.N. program. Other initiativessuch as our expansion within UCF’s regionalcampus sites, creative concurrent program witha community college and Web-based programsprovide further examples of the pathways ourfaculty has identiÞ ed and developed to increaseaccess to nursing programs.Several nurse researchers at UCF havedeveloped prominent pathways in research,and this publication highlights some of theirprojects. Dr. E.J. Brown’s studies on druguse and HIV in both rural and urban minoritypopulations spans 10 years. Dr. Karen Dow’sresearch on the quality of life for women withbreast cancer has been featured in the localmedia and has received national recognition.She is one of 21 faculty members recentlyhonored by UCF for receiving more than amillion dollars in grant funding for 2003. Dr.Karen Dennis’ latest grant is the largest singleaward in the college and builds on a previousNIH-funded grant, “Self EfÞ cacy, Metabolismand Weight Loss in Older Women.”Prominent pathways have been developedwithin the community by our nursing facultyand students. Eleven Community NursingCenters (CNCs) serve as focal points forstudent experiences. Collaboration andpartnerships with community agencies andinstitutions support our efforts to meet thehealth-care needs of underserved populations.Utilizing the CNCs, students and facultymembers made contact with more than 60,000clients during the 2002–2003 academic year.We are grateful for the support shown to theschool by these community partners, as well asby our other collaborators and alumni.This inaugural issue of UCF Nursing —Access to Excellence provides readerswith an overview of the prominent pathwaysbeing forged by our nursing faculty, studentsand alumni. Future issues will continue toprovide insights into the creative energy in theSchool of Nursing that promotes excellence inresearch, education and service at UCF —a leading metropolitan research university.Jean D’Meza Leuner, Ph.D., RNDirector and ProfessorDr. Jean D’Meza Leunerwas appointed director of the School ofNursing and a professor of nursing in July2003. Her work in higher education spansmore than 20 years and consists of extensiveteaching at all education levels, includingdoctoral programs. She has held administrativeand teaching positions at the MassachusettsGeneral Hospital Institute of Health Professionsin Boston and Medical University of SouthCarolina in Charleston, where she served as theassociate dean and interim dean in the Collegeof Nursing. Leuner has been project director orprincipal investigator on many grants, includingprojects funded by the U.S. Department ofHealth and Human Services and NationalInstitute for Nursing Research. She has alsopublished in a variety of nursing journalsand conducted many presentations, with anemphasis on nursing education, recruitmentand retention of students in nursing and facultypractice in a school-based health clinic. Sheserved on the Defense Advisory Committeeon Women in the Services, appointed by theU.S. Secretary of Defense. Leuner receivedher doctorate in higher education and master’sdegree from Boston College, bachelor’s degreein nursing from Seton Hall University anddiploma in nursing from St. Luke’s Hospitalin New York.2