Kent State University College of Nursing

President-Elect, Treasurer, Board of Directors, and Committee Members will Assume Leadership Positions

Washington, DC (October 5, 2021) – The American Academy of Nursing (Academy) announces its election results for President-Elect, Treasurer, Board of Directors, Fellow Selection Committee, and Nominating Committee.

Two-time Kent State University alumnus John Mastrojohn III, MSN ‘96, MBA ‘01, RN, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer at Hospice of the Western Reserve (HWR), credits Kent State for helping him to create a future he had not previously imagined. “My life and career changed dramatically as a result of my graduate experience, and I can’t imagine it any other way,” explained Mastrojohn, who completed the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs.

With the start of the Fall semester, three new full-time faculty members are contributing their knowledge and expertise to College of Nursing research endeavors. Dr. Versie Johnson-Mallard, Ph.D., RN, APRN, FAANP, FAAN, joins the College of Nursing as Dean, Professor, and Henderson Endowed Chair, succeeding retired Dean Barbara Broome and Interim Dean Denice Sheehan. Dr. Loretta Aller, Ph.D., RN, comes to the Kent campus after serving at Kent State University at Stark, and Dr. Stacy Miner, Ph.D., RN, CCRP, joins College of Nursing faculty from University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.

Cheryl Swinehart Dariushnia graduated from the Kent State School of Nursing (as it was referred to at the time) in 1977. As was the case for many students of her generation, Cheryl’s journey to become a nurse was not always easy. With limited scholarships available, she was forced to work over 30 hours a week while attending Kent State. However, as nurses do, Cheryl persevered and pushed forward.

A research team from Kent State University's School of Information working in partnership with Kent State’s College of Nursing received a National Leadership Planning Grant for Libraries from the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS) for $99,982. The funds will support the first stages of what investigators have named Project SHIELD (Supporting Healthy Infant Early Learning and Development).

Following separate national searches, Kent State University has selected Versie Johnson-Mallard, Ph.D., for the position of dean of the College of Nursing and Diane H. Petrella, D.M.A., for the position of dean of the College of the Arts.

Two-time Kent State University alumni Curtis Good, Ph.D., Assistant Dean of Operations & Student Services for Kent State College of Nursing, was presented with the Kent Academic Support and Advising Association (K.A.S.A.D.A.) Academic Advising Administrator of the Year Award on Friday, April 9. This award was created to highlight the achievements and good works of Kent State administrators. Recipients were nominated by their colleagues, supervisors, and/or deans. Good received university recognition and a $500 scholarship to advance his professional development.

Janet Reed, MSN, RN, CMSRN, Associate Lecturer at Kent State University Stark, always enjoys incorporating new creative ideas in her classroom. After observing her undergraduate nursing students struggle with heightened anxiety during traditional simulations over the years, she desired a way to make the experience more fun and less stressful. In February 2020, she introduced her students to the nursing simulation escape room, a project she developed as an assignment in her Ph.D. course, Teaching with Games and Simulations.

WARREN, OH (May 10, 2021) - Kent State University at Trumbull’s Chelsey Palmer, a soon-to-be graduating nursing student, was recently named one of two “Scholars of the Year” by the Eastern Ohio Area Health Education Center (AHEC). 

Palmer and Youngstown State University student Jake Weber earned the award which recognizes students who are exceptional in their approach, level of engagement, and connecting theory with practice while in the AHEC’s Scholars Program. It also considers the participant’s level of mentorship. 

Allie Rodriguez was a senior nursing student in her community rotation at Kent State University College of Nursing when the Kent State Field House was designated as a mass COVID-19 vaccination site clinic for Portage County and the surrounding areas. She and her classmates were among the first nursing students offered the opportunity to volunteer at the clinic and she jumped at the chance to put into practice what she had been learning.

Although widely acknowledged that greater diversity among nurses reduces health disparities and improves quality of care, the U.S. nursing workforce does not mirror the nation’s increasingly diverse population. According to the most recent Ohio Workforce Data Summary Report from the Ohio Board of Nursing, 88.7% of registered nurses reported their race/ethnicity as White/Caucasian, followed by 6.6% who reported their race/ethnicity as African American/Black. With over 25 years of experience at the Kent State University College of Nursing, Dr.

Kent State University’s College of Nursing and Cleveland Clinic Akron General are joining forces to offer an adult/adolescent Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) certificate program beginning this fall. This collaborative one-year program was created to address the regional and national shortage of SANE-certified registered nurses, especially in rural areas. 

U.S. News & World Report ranks Kent State University in the top 20 Best Library and Information Studies Programs in the country in its 2022 edition of Best Graduate Schools. Overall, Kent State is recognized in 12 new national rankings in the 2022 edition of Best Graduate Schools, including three specialty rankings.

Will Grayson, who will graduate with his Bachelor of Science in Nursing in May 2021, was in his pediatric rotation at the hospital when his clinical group learned Kent State University would transition to remote learning last spring. Grayson said the switch to online courses was not overly stressful as an upperclassmen nursing student as the majority of his lectures were already virtual. Online clinical and fully online simulations, however, took some getting used to.

A new book by Kent State University at Tuscarawas Professor of Nursing Technology Dr. Mariann Harding, will be released next week on Amazon.

Titled Conceptual Nursing Care Planning, the book shows how to identify clinical problems, determine expected outcomes, and choose nursing interventions—all grounded in a logical, concept-based framework. It demonstrates how the use of a concept-based approach and standardized clinical problems language makes it easier to plan effective care and to communicate with other members of the interprofessional team.

Buzz Starner ’67 was a Golden Flash through and through. As the second-generation in his family to attend Kent State, and having met the love of his live Marilyn Starner ‘71 on campus, Kent State held a very special place in his heart. Wanting to stay connected with the university after graduation, Buzz became an avid follower of all things Kent State Athletics.

“We had season tickets to everything, even wrestling!” Marilyn remembered as she reflected back on her love of Kent State. “Buzz made his first gift of $10 in 1969 to support the ‘I back a Kent State Athlete’ campaign.”

Faculty researchers from Kent State University’s College of Nursing were recently funded by the prestigious Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation with a yearlong President’s Grant award totaling $35,000. The goal of their study is to help ensure the competencies of new healthcare providers to facilitate vital family communication at the end of life.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced Kent State University to go completely remote midway through the spring 2020 semester, College of Nursing lecturer Sarah Bixler, MSN, RN, knew she would need to get creative with her teaching methods. “I have two school-aged children at home whose world was also turned upside down.

Kent State University’s College of Nursing will welcome its first nursing cohort into the Ph.D. in Nursing revised program in the fall semester 2020. The newly developed, state-of-the-science curriculum was thoughtfully constructed to prepare students to address emerging areas of nursing science by gaining essential knowledge in areas such as history and philosophy of nursing, theory, scientific writing, research methods, statistics and quantitative and qualitative design.

Dr. Jo Dowell, Ph.D., APRN, CNP, PNP, FNP-BC, CFNE, serves as Assistant Professor for the Kent State University College of Nursing and examines pediatric asthma and improving health outcomes for children who suffer from this disease.

Kent State University College of Nursing recently received a grant totaling $165,000 from Peg’s Foundation, formerly the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation, a private grant-making foundation which supports mental health programs in northeast Ohio.

The Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recently awarded a $1.5 million, three-year grant to Kent State University College of Nursing research faculty member Jim Tudhope, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC (principal investigator) and his team.

Traumatic injuries are the third leading cause of death nationally and the first in Americans age 44 and younger, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Level I trauma rooms are intended to stabilize and save the lives of patients with the most severe traumatic injuries. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has awarded a $2.47 million grant to Sara Bayramzadeh, a Kent State University researcher, to help create trauma rooms that support staff in saving patients’ lives.