SAVANNAH, Ga. – February 13, 2009 – South University named Rose Kearney-Nunnery, Ph.D., RN, CNE, as Dean of the College of Nursing. With over 30 years of clinical nursing and educational experience that includes faculty positions with Louisiana State University Medical Center, the University of South Florida, the State University of New York College at New Paltz, and most recently the Technical College of the Lowcountry in Beaufort, South Carolina, she is uniquely qualified to be the founding dean for South University’s College of Nursing.
As a dean, Dr. Kearney-Nunnery reports to the System Vice President for Academic Affairs (SVPAA), Joe Harm, Ph.D. She is a senior member of the faculty and serves as the chief academic officer for the master’s and bachelor’s nursing programs, delivered in online and on-ground formats. The dean is responsible for maintaining high quality program content and delivery, reviewing curriculum and establishing student learning outcomes, and facilitating the best practices among the faculty members at all campus locations.
“Her involvement in the professional community is extensive: participating in panels and presenting her published work on over 26 occasions since 1988,” said Dr. Harm. “She has focused her research on pedagogy and the advisement of nursing students as they transition from LPN- to RN- to BSN-level practitioners, which makes her a great fit for South University because our nursing students are very often nurses who are looking to advance their skills to the professional level.”
Dr. Kearney-Nunnery has published articles in Journal of Nursing Education, Nurse Educator, The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, and The South Carolina NURSE. She authored Advancing Your Career: Concepts of Professional Nursing, published in 1997 and is now in its fourth edition. She is a member of the South Carolina Board of Nursing, the American Nurses Association, the National League for Nurses, and Sigma Theta Tau.
Dr. Kearney-Nunnery earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Keuka College, in New York, and a Master of Science in Nursing and a Ph.D. in Nursing from the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Established in 1899, South University is a private academic institution dedicated to providing educational opportunities for the intellectual, social and professional development of a diverse student population. South University offers educational programs at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels with campuses located in Columbia, S.C.; Montgomery, Ala.; Savannah, Ga.; Tampa and West Palm Beach, Fla. Further information on South University is available at: www.southuniversity.edu.