Office of the Dean

Spring 2024 Update

Spring 2024 is well underway and comes with a great deal of excitement and celebration! First, we have experienced many recent successes, including:

• A banner year outstanding graduates:
  • 172 Louisville traditional and 11 accelerated BSN
  • 48 Owensboro traditional and 3 accelerated BSN
  • 24 MEPN (BSN & MSN)
  • 11 MSN APRN
  • 5 Post-graduate APRN Certificates
  • 31 DNP APRN
  • 2 PhD
  • Extension of the RN-BSN Concurrent Enrollment Program (CEP) to all of KCTCS and Ivy Tech. Many students in the CEP program are supported by a private scholarship fund.
  • Enrollment of the inaugural Nurse Anesthesia cohort in Fall 2023.
  • Several faculty received small grants for research funding.  Dr. Mollie Aleshire continued her work on “A Community Engaged Feasibility Study of hrHPV Self-Sampling for Primary Cervical Cancer Screening in Sexual and Gender Minorities,” funded by the University of Louisville Health Equity Innovation Hub.
  • Multiple graduate and undergraduate students presented at local and regional conferences.
  • Renovation of seven classrooms with up-to-date teaching technology and highly conducive learning environment, including mobile tables, comfortable seating, and state-of-the-art device charging stations.  These renovations were made possible by a grant from the Gheen’s Foundation and a private donor.
  • Renovation nearly complete on our first floor to accommodate two simulation spaces: outpatient primary care clinic for APRN students and a fully functioning operating room for nurse anesthesia residents.
  • As a special tribute of the classroom renovation, Classroom 2022 was named for Flora Ponder, one of the two first African American students in the Louisville General Hospital School of Nursing. Ms. Ponder was a community health nurse leader in Louisville for many decades.
  • Awarding of two HRSA training grants totally $6.5 million.
    • Dr. Sara Robertson – Advanced Nursing Education Workforce (ANEW) for $2.5 million
    • Dr. Heather Mitchell: LPN to BSN Pathway for $3.9 million
    • Establishment of a dedicated Owensboro Scholarship Fund by the Hager Foundation
    • Appointment of Nurse Anesthesia faculty member, Dr. Jennifer Harpe-Bates, to the KBN
    • Establishment of HealthForce Kentucky in western Kentucky; Dr. Mary DeLetter represents the School of Nursing on the Board of Directors and Dr. Amy Higdon sits on the Academic Affairs Committee.
    • An in-person CCNE site visit for validation of our 2021 virtual visit.

 This seems like a busy year, but 2024 is shaping up to be just as productive:

• Our new MSN in Leadership, with tracks in Education and Practice, has just been approved and will enroll students in Fall 2024.
• President Kim Schatzel has been active in the legislative session, advocating for higher education, including a plea for a new Health Sciences Simulation Center and Collaboration Hub.
• Upcoming site visit for potential funding by the Hearst Foundation
• Implementation of the modified APRN and new Accelerated BSN curriculum that embraces our 2021 AACN Essentials for Nursing Education and competency-based education principles.  The new traditional BSN curriculum will be implemented in Spring 2025.

Our most exciting news is the celebration of the School of Nursing Golden Jubilee on April 12!  We have grown from a Division of Nursing which admitted the first class of 41 Associate Degree students to our current School of Nursing educating over 1,200 students in two sites (Louisville and Owensboro) at the bachelor's, master’s, and doctoral levels, along with post-graduate certificates. The continuous support of the university, our community partners, alumni, and the dedicated faculty and staff have assured that the School of Nursing has been consistently accredited and respected for quality education, compassionate student support, and community engagement. I thank each of you who have contributed to the School of Nursing over the last 50 years.

Mary DeLetter, PhD, RN
Interim Dean and Professor
UofL School of Nursing