Message from the Dean
Suzanne Mellon
Healthy Times, Summer 2002 issue
Suzanne Mellon, R.N., Ph.D., has
taught psychiatric/mental health, research, leadership and management, and
community mental health, as well as family content in the UDM graduate nursing
programs and theoretical foundations of nursing. Her area of specialization
is in psychiatric mental health nursing and family mental health. Her area
of research expertise and interest is in family survivorship of a cancer
illness. She holds a B.S.N. from the University of Michigan, a M.S. in Nursing
from Ohio State University, and a Ph.D. from Wayne State University.
Dean Mellon received the President's
Award for Faculty Excellence in 1996 and the first Doctoral Nursing Student
Fellowship from the Helen Newberry Joy Foundation in 1996. She joined the
University of Detroit Mercy in 1989. Prior to her current position as dean,
she has served on the faculty and as associate dean and chair for McAuley
School of Nursing.
This year for the University and the College of Health Professions and McAuley School of Nursing has been a time of tremendous change and transition! The Prioritization Process that the University began one year ago is being embraced by our College. The process resulted in five major University-wide initiatives of additional investment to enhance the vitality of student life and the general campus environment: enrollment, information technology, campus life and infrastructure improvement, advancement, and marketing.
The most
noticeable change for our College will be our upcoming move to the McNichols
Campus projected for fall 2003. While the Outer Drive Campus holds great
meaning for our College, the faculty, staff and administrators in the
College recognize that the move will hold much potential to engage in
more interdisciplinary exchange with colleagues from other Colleges, and
opportunities for students to engage in a more vibrant campus life. What
is most important is that we continue to work together toward the future
of the University.
Another change for our College will be the consolidation of the Basic Clinical Sciences department with the Biology department into the College of Engineering & Science. This will occur with the College's move to the McNichols Campus. Already, the two departments have begun to develop plans to ensure that the science needs for all Health Professions clinically based programs will be met with excellence.
At the same time, several new initiatives are being implemented within the College. The University's enhanced focus on information technology is clearly evident in our College. The McAuley School of Nursing will launch the first completely online program in the University starting this June (see separate article). In partnership with Trinity Health, the third largest Catholic Health System in the U.S., we will be offering degree completion to RNs throughout their 28 member organizations. The first group to launch this summer will include nurses from California, Iowa, Idaho and Michigan! We are very excited about this initiative, and we envision future online deliveries with other programs within the College. Additionally, our revised accelerated BSN program will begin this fall. This program enables individuals with degrees in other fields to enter our Second Degree Option program and earn a BSN in 12 months. Enrollments in all programs throughout the College continue to show demand as we get ready for the fall term.
With all the transitions occurring in the University, the College of Health Professions and McAuley School of Nursing remain deeply committed to preparing excellent health care professionals who will be leaders in their respective fields. We have created a vision to lead us forward into the future: the College of Health Professions will be recognized as an urban center of academic excellence, distinguished by community partnerships and graduates who lead, serve, and promote social justice. We invite all the alumni from Mercy College, University of Detroit, and University of Detroit Mercy, and all our friends, to join with us in actualizing this vision for the future of our College.
Suzanne Mellon, R.N., Ph.D.,
Dean, College of Health Professions
McAuley School of Nursing
