Assistant Dean for Graduate Nursing Programs
Saint Catherine University
Saint Paul, MN
Suzan began her position as the Assistant Dean for Graduate Nursing Programs at Saint Catherine University in Saint Paul, Minnesota in July of 2013. She oversees the Doctor of Nursing Practice program and the Master's program which has 4 concentrations, Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Nursing Education, and a new Master's Entry option. Her fomer position was Associate Dean of Midwifery and Women’s Health at Frontier Nursing University. She served in many capacities at Frontier Nursing University during her 13 year tenure and was active on the leadership team that achieved regional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools: Commission on Colleges as a stand-alone graduate nursing university in 2005. As Chair of the Admissions Committee, Suzan tripled admissions from less than 200 students admitted in 2005 to over 600 students admitted in 2011. Her research interests include a qualitative investigation of why nurses choose midwifery, the socialization of nurses into the midwifery role, and innovations in distance education. Suzan is active in the American College of Nurse-Midwives currently spearheading a project to produce an online certrification review for graduates of midwifery programs. She served as Region One Representative to the Board of Directors in 1993-1996 and as Chair of the Nominating Committee from 2007-2009. She was inducted into the Fellowship of the American College of Nurse-Midwives in 2008. Suzan is an advocate of birth centers and served as the Director of the North Shore Birth Center in Beverly, Massachusetts from 1991-2000. The North Shore Birth Center is the longest running hospital owned birth center in the country established in 1979. She has served twice on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Birth Centers first as a Director from 1999-2001 and again as Vice-President from 2009-2011. Suzan was a site visitor for the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education since 2004 and is currently serving on the Board of Review for the Commission. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and Delta Omega Honor Society of Public Health. She earned her Doctor of Public Health degree from the University of Pittsburgh. Her nursing degrees include a Master’s of Science in Nursing with a specialization in nurse-midwifery from Georgetown University, a Master’s of Nursing specializing in maternity nursing from the University of Pittsburgh, and a bachelor’s of science in nursing from Duquesne University.