Diane Wink Archives | �鶹ԭ�� News

Nursing Celebrates Contributions of Three Retiring Faculty Members

Tue, 11 Aug 2015 15:18:04 +0000

After nearly 50 years of combined service, three �鶹ԭ�� College of Nursing faculty members are retiring. Dr. Diane Wink, Dr. Betty Mayer, and Hannah Morse, each made valuable contributions to the advancement of the college as well as to the nursing careers of countless students during their tenure.

“It has been a privilege to work alongside these educators,” said Dr. Mary Lou Sole, dean at the �鶹ԭ�� College of Nursing. “Through their areas of interest and expertise, each has made a positive impact on the education of Knight nurses and their local communities. We greatly appreciate their service.”

Wink, the Hugh F. and Jeannette G. McKean Endowed Chair in Nursing, is retiring this month after 28 years of service. On the Orlando campus, Wink has served in a variety of roles in both undergraduate and graduate programs. Most recently Wink was a professor and coordinator of the Nurse Educator program, which is offered as both a master’s degree and graduate certificate. Wink was pivotal in establishing the college’s community-based nursing education curriculum. She also helped develop the initial Nurse Educator Graduate Certificate, and coordinated the Family and Adult Nurse Practitioner tracks. A researcher, scholar and published author, Wink is a and a recipient of the academy’s Outstanding Abstract Award. �鶹ԭ�� has honored her with several teaching excellence, scholarship of teaching and learning and service awards, and most recently bestowed upon her the prestigious honor of “Professor Emerita.”

Mayer, a nursing professor on , is also retiring this month after 13 years of service. Mayer first became affiliated with the college in 1993 as a student in the RN to BSN program, and later in the master’s Family Nurse Practitioner program. Mayer was the college’s first MSN graduate to complete a PhD and be hired as a �鶹ԭ�� faculty member. Some of her contributions include creating and instructing the college’s domestic violence courses, becoming a major contributor to online course development, establishing the first advanced practice nursing group in Volusia County, and initiating the first Student Nurses Association chapter on the Daytona campus.

After eight years of service, Morse began her retirement in January. She was an instructor on psychiatric-mental health curriculum on the Orlando campus, and provided innovative ways to facilitate teaching and learning. Prior to her retirement, she was named the 2014 March of Dimes Nurse of the Year for the category of Academic Nurse Educator.

�鶹ԭ�� Alumni Celebrate at Second All-Class Nursing Reunion

Ivanna Ayalon — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 18:10:08 +0000

Interim Dean Dr. Mary Lou Sole opened the night’s event with a welcome back speech in which she gave special recognition to the classes of 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010, who were celebrating their milestone anniversaries from five to 30 years. She also applauded the alumni for their accomplishments in the field of nursing stating, “The College leadership and faculty are so proud of the work you are doing in health care.”

Sole also recognized faculty members in attendance who taught throughout the years, including Frances Smith, Jan Peterson, Joyce Dorner, Juanita Green, Linda Hennig, ’96, and Diane Wink, ’92.

The event included a cocktail hour with appetizers, an evening dinner and music. Attendees were able to reconnect with their former professors and fellow classmates while also reminiscing about their time at �鶹ԭ��. Some shared happy news of what has happened to them since graduation.

Alumna Serafina Di Benedetto, ’95, says her proudest accomplishment has been becoming a Navy nurse. “I experienced a variety of different areas in nursing through a military career.”

Other alumni shared their most memorable �鶹ԭ�� moments. Alumna Sharon Bowne, ’03, says her public health nursing course left a lasting impression after time spent at a low-income housing project as part of the Cocoa Community Nursing Coalition. “I love interacting with patients and making a difference in people’s lives.”

For alumna Loreen (Caldwell) Hand, ’81, ’13, who was part of the first class of BSN graduates, getting accepted into �鶹ԭ��’s nursing program after being on the waiting list is a memory she fully cherishes.

Most though, agreed that graduation was their most memorable moment because it signified a tremendous accomplishment, one that took time and hard work to obtain.

“All your hard work pays off,” says two-time alumna Fameisha (Grant) Williams, ’06, ’11. “There are many sacrifices, but it’s all worth it in the end.”

Annie O’Donnell, assistant director for college relations, outreach and engagement, thanks the alumni, faculty and friends that came out to celebrate this year’s second nursing alumni reunion. “It was a great turnout, with the number of attendees tripling that of last year’s event.”

Pictures from the reunion can be viewed on the .

First Endowed Chair in Nursing Education Appointed

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 22:55:24 +0000

Diane Wink, a professor and coordinator of the Nurse Educator M.S.N. program, has been appointed the Hugh F. and Jeannette G. McKean Endowed Chair in Nursing at the �鶹ԭ�� College of Nursing. With this prestigious endowment, Wink will further her work as a nationally recognized nurse educator and scholar, with expertise in service-learning and creative clinical teaching methods in both undergraduate and graduate programs.

Wink was recognized at an evening reception Friday, Aug. 24, on the �鶹ԭ�� campus, followed by a �鶹ԭ�� Theatre performance.

“Endowed chairs are essential to a university as it seeks to enhance the quality of teaching, research and service,” said �鶹ԭ�� President John C. Hitt. “We are fortunate to have a highly valued and respected professor of national stature to occupy this exciting new endowed chair at �鶹ԭ��.”

The shortage of nurses in the U.S. is no secret. Lesser known is the shortage of nursing faculty. Each year, several thousand qualified applicants are turned away nationwide, in large part, because nursing schools don’t have enough professors. To help address this issue and to encourage nursing students to consider academic careers, the Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation awarded the �鶹ԭ�� College of Nursing $760,000 to fund this endowed chair and scholarships for students who aim to become nurse educators.

Jean D’Meza Leuner, professor and dean of the �鶹ԭ�� College of Nursing, said it’s a great honor and a privilege to congratulate Wink on her appointment as the Hugh F. and Jeannette G. McKean Endowed Chair in Nursing. Several national and international nurse leaders submitted letters in support of Wink’s nomination for the endowed chair. Of note are the comments from the Editor-in Chief for the journal, Nurse Educator.

Suzanne P. Smith wrote, “Dr. Wink has made many significant contributions to the quality of nursing education on a national level and in her writing, she clearly transmits the importance of always remembering the core of our work as teachers of nursing is helping students and nurses provide up to date, high quality, evidence-based nursing care. Dr. Diane Wink exemplifies excellence in teaching and scholarship. She is an inspiring role model for faculty and students.”

Harold A. Ward, III, president of the Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation, was unable to attend the reception but sent his congratulations in an email. He wrote, “Dr. and Mrs. McKean were strong supporters of health care for our community, and I know they would be pleased.” Dean Leuner presented Richard Strauss, executive vice president and trustee of the foundation, with a certificate of appreciation.

Wink thanked the Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation, her students, family and �鶹ԭ�� for their support in awarding her the endowment. “I look forward to collaborating with our nursing faculty and students to obtain more grant funding to support the development of more nurse educators and increasing the national presence of �鶹ԭ�� in organizations committed to the preparation of nurse educators.”

Dean Leuner shared a few of her major accomplishments, “Dr. Wink was a pivotal architect for our Community Based Nursing Education Curriculum, a signature aspect to our program today. She helped develop the initial Nurse Educator Certificate at �鶹ԭ�� and she has coordinated the Family and Adult Nurse Practitioner tracks and now the Nurse Educator track in the graduate program at �鶹ԭ��.”

Wink has been a faculty member in the �鶹ԭ�� College of Nursing since 1987 and was awarded tenure in 1995. She holds a B.S. in nursing from Adelphi University, an M.A. in counseling and guidance from Rollins College, an M.S.N. from Villanova University and an Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction from �鶹ԭ��. She was also a Kellogg Faculty Fellow at East Carolina University, where she completed post-doctoral study to become a family nurse practitioner. Wink’s own active clinical practice allows her to incorporate examples from real life that enrich the material that students learn from books and papers.

Wink serves on multiple university committees, as well as the editorial boards of three national peer-reviewed nursing education journals. She is an active member of several prestigious nursing organizations, including the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and was inducted as a Fellow of the AANP in 2010. In addition, she was recently invited to participate as co-editor/writer in the revision of NONPF’s major teaching document, Guidelines for Distance Education and Enhanced Technologies in Nurse Practitioner Programs.

“The Genius Foundation’s foresight and passion for helping combat the nursing faculty shortage — both from an immediate need and future need perspective — has been an amazing tribute to the McKeans and an innovative approach to solving a community challenge through philanthropy,” Leuner said.

Wink concluded, “There is a saying that ‘it takes a village to raise a child.’ It also takes a village to educate a nurse. I have been able to accomplish a lot in my 39 years as a nurse educator, and hope to accomplish a great deal more. That is possible because of the help, assistance and support to all of us in our village.”

Graduate students can submit their application for the Hugh F. and Jeannette G. McKean Endowed Scholarship online at https://www.nursing.ucf.edu/students/undergraduate-students/college-scholarships/ before 5 p.m. on Oct. 5. Scholarships will be awarded in Spring 2013.

Three Professors Nurture Nursing Education

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:00:26 +0000

Three College of Nursing faculty members have established endowed scholarships, deepening their legacies to �鶹ԭ��: Drs. Diane Wink, Jean Kijek and Linda Hennig.

Together with her husband, Dr. Wink established the Diane and Lawrence Wink Endowed Nursing Scholarship for undergraduate nursing students. Dr. Wink remembers the excitement of being a nursing student—and is glad to see it continue at �鶹ԭ�� and in her work as a nurse practitioner.

“Nursing is a field where you can, during your career, do a wide variety of different things and still be doing the core mission of the profession, which is helping people maintain and improve their health,” Dr. Wink said.

Dr. Kijek attended nursing school at New York University (NYU) at the same time Drs. Wink and Hennig did, but had a special friendship with Dr. Hennig—they were roommates. Sharing an interest in acute trauma, Drs. Kijek and Hennig met in NYU’s rehabilitation nursing program. Throughout her career, Dr. Kijek has been an advocate for professional advancement through political action.

The Kijek Doctoral Student Endowed Scholarship is for students who are enrolled in nursing’s Ph.D. program at �鶹ԭ��. “I always wanted to be a teacher, so I’m in education,” she said. “But my mother was once a patient when I was in high school, and I saw some things that made me want to go into nursing.”

Dr. Hennig chose to focus on rehabilitation because she was drawn to the long-term patient-nurse relationships the field offered—but technology excited her, as well. In 1998, she helped develop a web-based R.N. to B.S.N. program at �鶹ԭ��—the first of its kind in the state of Florida.

The Drs. Linda M. and E. Glenn Hennig, Jr. Endowed Scholarship is awarded to students in the graduate nurse educator program—and it’s also in honor of her late husband, Dr. E. Glenn Hennig, Jr., a neuropsychologist who supported nursing education. “It’s in his memory and is a part of my legacy that I wanted to have as an ongoing endowment,” she said. “Of all the things I’ve done in nursing, I think nursing education is where I’ve found my fit.”

Dr. Hennig hopes that her scholarship will help reduce stress for nursing students, help them work fewer hours outside of school and feel recognized academically. “I’m very pleased that I’m able to do this,” Dr. Hennig said.