School of Nursing Chairs

Dr. Anne Keane, associate dean for Academic Programs, has been named the Class of 1965 25th Reunion Term Professor in Nursing. The Class of 1965 Chair is one of five created by the Class in 1990. This unprecedented 25th Reunion class gift funded a chair for each of the four undergraduate schools and one in honor of the College for Women. Dr. Keane will be the first holder of the Class of 1965 Chair in the School of Nursing due to her initiative in developing and testing innovative educational models to achieve the school's educational mission within the context of shortages of faculty in nursing, building on her earlier work on educational evaluation of different components of nursing programs. In addition, Dr. Keane is extending her research on stress and healing following fires, testing intervention models of caring for children and adolescents following a home fire, and the utilization of these models in the different educational levels. 

 

Dr. Eileen Sullivan-Marx, associate dean for Practice and Community Affairs, has been named to the Shearer Endowed Term Chair for Healthy Community Practices.  This chair, funded by a generous gift from Miriam Stirl in memory of her mother Helen M. Shearer, is intended to be occupied by a nurse faculty member who will provide leadership and faculty support for the school's community-based initiatives. Dr. Sullivan-Marx meets that intent with distinction. 

Dr. Sullivan-Marx is responsible for expanding the School's Healthy in Philadelphia (HIP) Initiative. Her ongoing evaluation of reimbursement mechanisms and policy related to quality of care and cost of services for vulnerable, older populations; and her participation in the developing Penn Home Care and Hospice Services all provide particularly fitting complements to the donor's intent in funding the endowed term chair.

 

Dr. Linda McCauley, associate dean for Research, has been named the Nightingale Professor in Nursing. The Nightingale Chair is funded by a generous gift from Margaret R. Mainwaring and was established to honor all nurses who served their country during times of war, and is dedicated to their memory. Dr. McCauley's background work with military personnel makes her particularly suitable for appointment as the Nightingale Professor.

A distinguished researcher, scholar, teacher and mentor, Dr. McCauley has garnered a peerless reputation at both the national and international levels. The importance of her work is recognized through her innovative and influential research, numerous publications in prestigious journals, awards, and selection for consultation to governments and universities. Her research on the outcomes of exposure to antineoplastic drugs on nurses contributed to the 1988 development of work-practice guidelines for safe handling of drugs that became occupational and health administration policy. Similarly, her research on chemical exposure experienced by military personnel led to invited congressional testimonies as well as invitations to provide expert advice on the threat of bioterrorism. Her most current work on injuries among children of migrant farm workers is likely to provide an impetus to reform labor laws in the United States.

Recent world events emphasize the importance of having scholars and experts who can develop health care models and prevention programs to allow for working in safe occupational environments. There are four foci to Dr. McCauley's research--health effects of worksite exposures; military personnel exposures to chemicals during conflict; pesticide exposure of families and of adolescent migrant agricultural workers; and social, legal and ethical implications of research on genetic risk factors and environmental exposures among minority populations. 

 

Dr. Stella L. Volpe, associate professor of nursing, has been named to the Miriam Stirl Endowed Term Chair in Nutrition. 

This Chair is funded by a bequest from Miriam Stirl (HUP '20, Ed '23). Ms. Stirl developed an interest in nutrition during her career in nursing and the University received this gift for the study and teaching of nutrition after her death in 1989.  Dr. Volpe will be the second holder of the Stirl Chair.  Dr. Linda Brown brought distinction to the Stirl Chair during the period 1997-2002.

Dr. Volpe's research in physical activity and nutrition intervention is well recognized and fits well with the donor's intent. All her research links four cross-cutting themes--mineral metabolism as it relates to body composition, the effects of diet and exercise on body composition, nutrition and physical activity education in low-income schools, and obesity prevention through environmental change. 

Dr. Volpe is well positioned to be a leader in the field of nutrition and fitness/sports medicine which is in a very exciting growth phase with tremendous potential for discovery and need for consumer education. Her media efforts serve to enhance the public's knowledge of nutrition and need for healthy dietary habits.