Davis & Henley College of Nursing Appoints Two New Associate Deans
LuAnn Etcher and Cynthia O’Sullivan have goals that will benefit faculty and students
Sacred Heart University has announced two new associate deans for the Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing.
LuAnn Etcher will take on the role of associate dean for research and scholarship, a new position that supports and promotes student and faculty research, while Cynthia O’Sullivan fills the role of associate dean for academic affairs and global nursing.
Etcher is eager to meet challenges
Before joining SHU in 2019, Etcher, was an associate professor at the nursing college. That experience enables her to take on her new position with a clear understanding of the nursing school and its goals.
“I see my work as a mentor, research scientist and nurse scholar to be a calling. Mentoring faculty and promoting their creativity and innovation in research and scholarship is very rewarding and fulfilling for me, and it fuels the passion I have for my work. I understand the rigors of the faculty role and am also compassionate toward faculty as they seek new ways to balance excellence in the domain of scholarship with all the other demands inherent in their role as faculty,” said Etcher.
Etcher completed her doctorate in philosophy of nursing at Wayne State University, MI, in 2008 and earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. She also obtained a post-master’s certificate at the University of Pennsylvania and post-doctoral fellowships through the John A. Hartford Foundation and Atlantic Philanthropies, as well as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
She said she is eager to meet the challenges of her new role. “One of my initial goals is to support faculty as they create programs of scholarly interest that are actionable, which they can follow and build out toward becoming experts in their respective fields,” said Etcher. “Another initial goal is to begin building a cadre of senior nurse faculty mentors who are well-suited to foster growth in junior faculty research and scholarship efforts.”
“From my perspective, SHU is a beautiful place to be, and I have loved every minute of my work here. In my experience, it is novel to find the energy for excellence, fast pace and openness for new ideas in an academic setting. It’s refreshing,” Etcher said.
O’Sullivan returns to SHU
This new position for O’Sullivan will make use of her extensive administrative experience from her previous position at Southern Connecticut State University. In that post, she was involved in accreditation, program development, implementation and revision of academic programs and standards and support for that university’s strategic goals.
She will take these skills with her as she makes the transition to Sacred Heart.
In O’Sullivan’s new role, she will work with faculty and staff in the Davis & Henley College of Nursing and across the University to promote a positive, caring, exemplary and transformative learning experience for students.
This is not O’Sullivan’s first time as part of the SHU community. She took her first fulltime nursing faculty position at the University in 1999 and left after five years to earn her Ph.D. from Yale University. Her other degrees include a bachelor’s from Penn State, a master’s from the University of Pennsylvania and a post-master’s family nurse practitioner certificate from Maryville University. After 19 years working in academia, she is back at SHU and, even after her time away, she has maintained a strong admiration for the University.
“The Catholic intellectual tradition and Sacred Heart’s mission of service and social justice were critical to my foundational experiences as a faculty member,” said O’Sullivan. “It is clear how these ideals, along with SHU’s values regarding truth, excellence and the betterment of society, have helped guide the SHU community and propel the University’s growth and standing regionally and internationally.”
Remarking on her anticipation to get started, O’Sullivan said she is “honored to be working with our dynamic dean and the talented faculty and staff at the Davis & Henley College of Nursing.”
She expressed that, while in this role, her personal vision is “to cultivate within my professional environment an atmosphere of exemplary teaching, teamwork and scholarship, where faculty and students feel respected and supported to achieve their maximum potential.”