Ann Fenley Minnick, PhD, RN, FAAN
BSN ‘70 - Ann is the Senior Associate Dean for Research in the College of Nursing at Vanderbilt University. Prior to this appointment, she served in academic and service leadership positions at Rush University in Chicago, IL, and also on faculty at the University of Illinois.

Ann’s program of research and scholarly activity are dedicated to safety and quality issues related to health service delivery. Additional research studies look to improve patient and staff outcomes in operating rooms and intensive care units. She has authored more than 90 articles and hundreds of research presentations as well as led many national funded grants throughout her career.

In 2006, the U.S. Health and Human Services appointed Ann to the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice. She is also the 1997 recipient of the College’s Outstanding Alumni Award for her leadership in patient care issues and innovations in nursing practice.

Barbara Datres Pieper, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, CWOCN, FAAN
BSN ‘70 - Barbara began her tenure at Wayne State University in 1980. She has taught medical-surgical nursing based graduate courses and doctoral courses as well as facilitated the research experience of graduate and doctoral students.

After requesting a joint appointment with her teaching position she worked as a Wound Ostomy Continence Clinical Nurse Specialist at Detroit Receiving Hospital. In 1991, she initiated chronic wound care in the outpatient clinic. She treated up to 40 people a day for wounds caused by pressure ulcers, diabetic ulcers and drug usage.

Barbara has committed her nursing career to the treatment of venous ulcers which are generally an ignored area of substance abuse. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and provides much of the literature about injection drug use and chronic venous disease. In 2009, Barbara received a $1.1 million grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research for a study entitled "Effect of Drug Use on the Legs:  CVI Mobility and Pain.”

Kathleen Nowicki Schwartz, MBA, RN
BSN ‘71 - Kathy embodies the characteristics of a graduate from a land-grant university – a strong commitment to leadership, service, education and giving back. She has held a variety of administrative positions including Vice President of Community Services at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland. An engaged volunteer, she has served on many community boards in Southeast Michigan.

Kathy has maintained close ties to the University, having served on and chaired the MSU Alumni Association National Board and as President of the College’s Alumni Association. She is a founding member and current Chair of the Board of Visitors.

Kathy is a strong advocate for excellence in nursing and connectivity amongst our graduates. She was instrumental in the development of an alumni endowed scholarship, and has personally established an endowed enrichment fund in the College.  Most recently, Kathy and her husband Mike funded a student commons in the new building. In 2002, she was honored as a recipient of the MSU Alumni Service Award.

Martha Keehner Engelke, PhD, RN
BSN ‘71 - Martha has applied her education to nursing excellence through outstanding teaching, leadership and research success. She focuses her attention on student management of chronic illness to benefit students at large.

Martha serves as the Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship at East Carolina University College of Nursing. Additionally, she is the project director/PI for a funded program of research targeting young students battling chronic illness. In her study, she has developed a model of case management used by 84 school nurses with more than 400 chronically ill children.

Martha has been recognized with the Distinguished Professor of Nursing Award at East Carolina University, as well as the Outstanding Research Award from the National Association of School Nurses.

Mary Jo Strauss Gilmer, PhD, MBA, CNS, CNL, RN-BC
BSN ‘71 - Mary Jo is the Director of the Clinical Management Program and Co-Director of the Pediatric Palliative Care Research Team at Vanderbilt School of Nursing. She is a leader in many international healthcare projects from Belize to Uganda, Ecuador, Italy and China.

Mary Jo’s program of research explores the suffering and morbidity of families affected by cancer and the loss of a child. She aims to differentiate subgroups of siblings and parents in need of support and to identify modifiable factors to ease grief. She also aims to increase communication among suffering families and help them deal with the overbearing question, "How do I talk with my child about cancer.” Through her palliative care role, she has focused on enhancing care of children with life-threatening conditions at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.

Barbara Stewart Hertzler, MSA, RN
BSN ‘71 - Barbara is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, Trinity Health. She directs all hospital operations including patient care services, ancillary and diagnostic services, supply chain, clinical informatics and support services. She has served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Michigan and University of Detroit Mercy.

Previously, Barbara was Senior Vice President of Clinical Services and Chief Nursing Officer for Trinity Health. Under her leadership, they formed a system-wide structure resulting in improved nurse recruitment and retention.

Barbara is the recipient of the College’s 2004 Outstanding Alumni Award. Barbara serves on the College’s Board of Visitors and has made a financial commitment to fund a research workstation in the new building.

Carol Robinson Beals, MD
BSN ‘72 - Carol’s dedication to nursing drove her to create a comprehensive healthcare service for debilitating chronic illnesses. In 1981, Carol opened a practice in Lansing with a focus on high quality care of arthritis, osteoporosis and autoimmune disease. She is the CEO of the Beals Institute which has grown into an important health provider in Michigan. Today she serves 10,000 patients at her clinic who come from all over Michigan and other states.

Carol graduated as a Diploma Nurse from Polyclinic Hospital in Pennsylvania. She completed dual degrees in nursing and human medicine. She completed a fellowship in Rheumatology at the University of Michigan in 1981. In 2002, Carol established an endowed scholarship to benefit undergraduate students on the basis of academic achievement.

Teresa Conlon Wehrwein, PhD, RN, CNEA-BC
BSN ‘72 - Teresa is the College’s Associate Dean for Academic and Clinical Affairs. She was a Professor and Director of the Center for Research at Madonna University and held administrative positions in health systems in Michigan, including the Administrative Director for Academic Nursing at the Henry Ford Health System, before coming to the College of Nursing in 2001.

Teresa is a published scholar and PI for the Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson and Northwest Health Foundation and in collaboration with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. In 2007, she was honored with the Nightingale Award for Nursing by Oakland University. In 2006, Teresa and her husband Paul established an endowed scholarship to benefit graduate nursing students. Most recently, they made a commitment to fund an administrative office in the new building.

Lynn Trinklein Zuellig, BSN, RN
BSN ‘74 - Lynn upholds a strong priority of providing comfort, dignity and emotional support to patients, their families and care givers as they face end-of-life issues.

Lynn is currently Chief Operating Officer of home-based services at Lutheran Homes of Michigan. Her responsibilities include home care, personal services and hospice. Lynn started as a Case Manager and worked her way up the ranks through various positions such as the Clinical Nurse Supervisor, Human Development Coordinator, Director of Hospice and Director of Service Integration.

Lynn has volunteered in Niger, Ghana and Nigeria, Africa to participate in Polio National Immunization Day activities as part of Rotary International, an organization committed to polio eradication. To date two billion children in 122 countries have been immunized through these efforts.

Shirley Bader Weis, BSN, MM
BSN ‘75 - Shirley is the Chief Administrative Officer for Mayo Clinic. She is responsible for nation-wide operations of the $8 billion organization. She has also worked as the Chief Operating Officer for Blue Care Network – Mid Michigan.

As Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council, the Board of Visitors, Shirley was a strong advocate with university administration to get support for the new nursing building.

She was honored with the Outstanding Alumni Award for Administration in 1997 and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the MSU Alumni Association in 1999. Through an estate plan, Shirley established an endowed nursing scholarship in honor of her parents.

Patricia Hemingway Hall, MPH, RN
BSN ‘75 - Patricia is the first female President and Chief Operating Officer at Health Care Service Corporation. Sitting at the helm of the nation’s fourth largest insurance company, she provides services to more than 12 million members and employs 16,000 people.

Raised with Spartan pride, Patricia led the way for many firsts for women. She was part of the team which established one of the nation’s first Preferred Provider Organization and assumed the role of Aetna’s first female Vice President.

Named one of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare and one of the Top 25 Women in Healthcare for 2009 by Modern Healthcare Magazine, Patricia has worked tirelessly for more than 30 years to improve healthcare outcomes, specifically in the fight to enhance affordability and accessibility of healthcare for all people.

Nancy Kline Leidy, PhD, RN
BSN ‘75 - Nancy has dedicated her career to healthcare research and the advancement of knowledge to healthcare professionals worldwide. Her accomplishments in research and education earned her the 2002 MSU Distinguished Alumni Award.

Nancy has been a successful educator, research scientist, and executive. As a researcher, she specializes in instrument development and testing, clinical study design, and analyses of patient-reported outcome data, including symptoms, quality of life, and functional status. Nancy was an adjunct Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University and served in a number of executive roles, including directing UBC’s Center for Health Outcomes Research and their Health Care Analytics Group before assuming her current position as Sr. Vice President of Scientific Affairs.  In addition, Nancy was appointed to the Dean’s Advisory Council, the Board of Visitors in 2003.

Judge Paula Manderfield, JD, RN
BSN ‘79 - Paula was elected to the 30th Circuit Court Judge for Ingham County in 2000. This is Paula’s 18th year on the bench having served her first eight years on the Lansing District Court. She was assigned to the Family Court division before moving into the General Trial division. In 2006 she received her toughest trial, the murder trial of Ricky Holland, in which many changes were made to children’s rights within the foster care system of Michigan.

In Paula’s first career she worked as an RN part-time while completing a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She worked her way through law school as a Nursing Supervisor and graduated in the top third of her class from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Understanding the challenge of balancing family, work, academics, and financial obligations - The Judge Paula Manderfield Endowed Scholarship was established to help RN to BSN students achieve their goals.

Linda Scott, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
BSN ‘79 - Linda has demonstrated her commitment to nursing for over 30 years. Engaged in academic, clinical and administrative practices, she built a sustainable research program that influences policy and practice related to patient, nurse and public safety as well as the nursing work environment.

In addition to her roles as Professor of Nursing and Associate Dean for Graduate Programs at Grand Valley State University, Dr. Scott conducts seminal research on staff nurse work hours and errors. Her research identifies nurse work schedules in correlation to patient safety, influencing health policy formation for quality patient care. Linda has received a number of honors and awards for her professional commitment, including the 1998 Outstanding Alumni Award in Administration and induction into the American Academy of Nursing in 2008.

Carol Dwyer, MSN, MM, RN
MSN ‘79 - Carol began her nursing career in 1975 as a Critical Care Staff Nurse and educator at hospitals and universities in Michigan and New York. Upon receiving her MSN from MSU in 1979, she became a director of cardiology services and subsequently ascended to the level of Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer.

In 1995, Carol received MSU’s Outstanding Alumni Award. In 2009 she received an honorary Doctorate from Trinity College of Nursing for her visionary leadership and commitment to nursing.

Carol’s leadership has contributed to achieving Magnet Accreditation for Nursing Excellence at three hospitals. She currently serves as Vice President of Nursing at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing. Recently, Carol and her husband Tim made a financial commitment to fund a research workstation in the new building.