Thought this was something you should know: :: Johnson City Press - News ::

Dr. Wendy M. Nehring is the new dean of nursing at East Tennessee State University.

She comes to ETSU from the college of nursing at Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she was associate dean for graduate education and director of graduate programs. She replaces Dr. Patricia L. Smith, who retired from ETSU in December.

“The university is very fortunate to have recruited Dr. Nehring, who is well respected across the nation for her contributions in nursing education and research,” said Dr. Wilsie S. Bishop, ETSU vice president for health affairs and university chief operating officer.

“This is a critical era for nursing education,” Bishop said. “More nurses and nurse faculty are needed, and Dr. Nehring’s expertise in curriculum development, graduate education and the use of simulations in training will be of great benefit to ETSU and the future growth of our college of nursing.”

Nehring has held previous appointments at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville , Rush University, the University of Illinois, and Illinois Wesleyan University.

She began her studies at Illinois Wesleyan, where she earned her bachelor’s degree. At the University of Wisconsin, Madison, she received a master’s in parent-child nursing. She completed her Ph.D. in nursing science at the University of Illinois-Chicago. An emphasis on mental retardation and developmental studies was a component of both her graduate and doctoral studies.

At the University of Illinois, Nehring completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in the Center for Narcolepsy Research. During that time, she earned her Nursing Child Assessment Satellite Training Pediatric Assessment certification.

She has dedicated significant research time in the areas of Down syndrome, the experiences of children with HIV/AIDS, neural tube defects, mental retardation and the use of simulations in nursing education.

Nehring has been the investigator, co-investigator, or program director of initiatives supported by the Down Syndrome Research Fund, National Institutes of Health, National Association for Down Syndrome, Sigma Theta Tau, Medical Education Technologies, Inc., Health Resources and Services Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Johnson and Johnson, and the Edward W. and Stella C. Van Houten Memorial Fund.

In addition, she has to her credit more than 170 publications, which include books, articles, book chapters, monographs, proceedings, abstracts and Internet modules.