Additions Made to Bolster Nursing Program at FSU

When Fayetteville State University (FSU) Chancellor Lloyd V. Hackley arrived in late July, he vowed to do what was necessary to get the school's nursing program back on track. Today, he announced three initiatives to make it happen.
The first was the hiring of consultants Dr. Cynthia Capers and Dr. Virginia Adams. The two consultants will be working with the FSU Nursing Department November 15-16.Dr. Capers is dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Akron in Ohio. Highly recognized for her leadership in nursing on the local and national levels, she previously served as interim dean in the School of Nursing at LaSalle University in Philadelphia. She has more than 35 years of experience as a professional nurse, an educator, researcher, consultant, and family therapist. She is recognized for her expertise in cultural diversity and psychosocial care.

Since joining the University of Akron, she has focused on the advancement of the nursing programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as on the outreach opportunities in nursing. Under her direction, the college established a Center for Gerontological Health Nursing and Advocacy which directs attention to research, education and service in addressing health care issues and advocacy for older adults.

Dr. Capers completed her initial nursing education at Freedmen's Hospital School of Nursing in Washington, D.C., earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland and her master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed doctoral and post-doctoral work as a Fellow of the American Nurses Association's Minority Fellowship Program.

Dr. Adams is dean of the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Prior to her current position, she was interim dean of the College of Nursing at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) in Johnson City, Tenn. She has also served as chair and associate professor in the Family/Community Nursing Department at ETSU, and as a tenured professor of maternal child nursing at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU).

Dr. Adams earned her bachelor of science degree in nursing from WSSU, a master's in maternal child nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a doctorate in child development/family relations from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is member of the New Hanover County Board of Health, North Carolina Center for Nursing's board of directors, North Carolina Dean's Council, North Carolina Nurse Scholars Commission, and the North Carolina Institute of Medicine Taskforce on the Nursing Shortage. Additionally, Dr. Adams is a member of the American Nurses Association, North Carolina Nurses Association, National League of Nursing, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and the Southern Regional Education Board Council on Collegiate Nursing Education.

The next initiative is the groundbreaking for the Southeastern North Carolina Nursing Education and Research Center later this year. The $10 million building will be located on east campus near the Charles W. Chesnutt Library. It will consist of an instructional area with nine classrooms, two computer labs, an exercise physiology research lab, three conference rooms, and two media rooms. The faculty office areas will have 36 offices, a chairperson's suite, suites for designated program directors, and a student academic support area. (See attachment for architect's rendering of the building.)

Last is the establishment of the Sen. Tony Rand Endowed Professorship in Nursing. The professorship will be used to attract a nationally recognized scholar in the field of nursing. The chair has been funded by a $500,000 gift from the C.D. Spangler Foundation. FSU is seeking to raise an additional $250,000 which will be matched by the state, giving the university its first $1 million endowed professorship.

Rand was appointed to the North Carolina Senate in 1981 and won office the following year. He served in that position until he ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 1988. He dropped out of politics for several years, but was re-elected to the Senate in 1995 and has served since. In 2001, he was chosen as majority leader, a position he still holds. As head of the Democratic caucus, he is one of the state's most powerful legislative leaders.

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