Donna Sullivan Havens, PhD, RN, FAAN, ’83 MSN is the new Connelly Endowed Dean of the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing. Dean Havens has more than 20 years of national and international experience in nursing practice, academia, administration and research. Throughout her career, Dean Havens has served in a number of leadership roles, including at the Pennsylvania State University College of Nursing and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing, where she served as interim dean. Most recently, she was a visiting international scholar at the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Dean Havens’ career as a practitioner, teacher and scholar has been distinguished by her passionate commitment to community and global initiatives to improve the health of underserved populations. “I am both honored and excited to return to my alma mater. … The College is where I was mentored to become the nursing professional that I am today, so returning to Villanova seems most appropriate,” she says.
Honoring a Transformative Dean
Deborah “Dee” Silvers Adams ’86 FCN and her husband, Nick, have made a $5 million commitment to provide anchor support for the naming of the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing. The largest philanthropic commitment in the College’s history, the Adams’ gift honors the legacy of M. Louise Fitzpatrick, EdD, RN, FAAN, the College of Nursing’s visionary dean of nearly 40 years, who passed away in 2017. The College’s naming, announced in December, was made possible through philanthropic support. More than $12.8 million in gifts and pledges have been made by alumni, parents and friends in honor of Dean Fitzpatrick; in total, $33.9 million was raised in support of the Fitzpatrick College of Nursing during the Villanova Campaign to Ignite Change.
Inaugural Endowed Nursing Professorship
Suzanne C. Smeltzer, EdD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, has been named inaugural holder of the Richard and Marianne Kreider Endowed Professorship in Nursing for Vulnerable Populations at the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing. Dr. Smeltzer, professor and director of the Office of Nursing Research, is an internationally known advocate for health care access and quality care for people with disabilities. This endowed professorship — established through a gift from Richard J. Kreider ’83 VSB and his wife, Marianne — supports a distinguished faculty member whose teaching and research significantly contribute to the health care of populations at high risk for chronic and life-threatening illnesses.
Alumna Recognized for Nursing Leadership
Mary Duffin Naylor, PhD, RN, FAAN, ’71 FCN—the Marian S. Ware Professor in Gerontology, and director of the NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing — has been honored as the inaugural recipient of the M. Louise Fitzpatrick Award for Transformative Leadership. The architect of an advanced practice nurse-coordinated, team-based innovation targeting high risk older adults, Dr. Naylor has tackled the challenges associated with testing multidimensional interventions for these vulnerable people and their caregivers. Dr. Naylor also serves as a Villanova University trustee.
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The College is where I was mentored to become the nursing professional that I am today, so returning to Villanova seems most appropriate.”
Donna Sullivan Havens, PhD, RN, FAAN, ’83 MSN