Gennaro to head CSON

The search for the new dean of the Connell School of Nursing (CSON) ended last Friday when it was announced that Susan Gennaro would be the next to head the school. Genarro currently serves as a professor of nursing at New York University and will assume her post at Boston College on July 1. Gennaro succeeds Dr. Barbara Hazard, the current dean of the Connell School of Nursing, who has held the position for the past 17 years.

During her tenure as dean, Hazard has accumulated several awards for her service to the educational and medical communities. These include International Health Professional of the Year, Who's Who Among American Teachers, the Virginia A. Henderson Award for outstanding contributions to nursing research, and many others. In addition to serving as dean, Hazard has taught classes for graduate students in statistics. She has also published two books on medical statistics, as well as several journal articles. She announced her retirement to the Provost and Dean of Faculties Dr. Cutberto Garza, last summer.

The announcement of Hazard's retirement prompted Garza to initiate the search for a new dean of CSON, which he did in Sept.ember 2007. The first action he took was to assemble an internal search committee composed of the dean of the Graduate School of Social Work, members of the faculty for CSON, members of the BC faculty outside of CSON, other members of the administration, and students from both the graduate and undergraduate schools. This committee met several times throughout the '07-'08 academic year to evaluate the candidates for the dean position.

After the initial search process, which included postings of the position opening on the BC Web site, the use of an external search firm, and the use of the numerous personal networks of faculty members at BC, the candidate field was presented to the search committee. Hazard was not part of the official selection committee, but did play a part in the choice of Gennaro as dean. "I was the one who suggested Susan Gennaro [for the position]," she said, "and I talked to her about what a wonderful opportunity it would be." The committee decided, upon this recommendation and extensive interviews, that Gennaro would be the best fit for BC and the Connell School.

Gennaro currently holds an endowed professor position at New York University, dealing mostly in nursing research. Hazard noted that this focus on and commitment to research was critical in Gennaro's selection as the new dean. One of the goals of CSON has been to increase the level of research conducted at the school, and Gennaro is sure to do that as dean, based on her past record, Hazard said.

As a graduate of Lemoyne College, Gennaro is familiar with the Jesuits and the ideals that go along with teaching at a Jesuit institution. She has also taught at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Alabama.

Her expertise lies in the field of perinatal nursing, which is nursing that deals with developing children from about five months prior to birth until one month after birth. Gennaro has practiced nursing worldwide, in African countries such as Uganda and Malawi, as well as in Europe and Asia. She has also contributed to several medical journals and is the editor of The Journal of Nursing Scholarship, which has a worldwide circulation of over 100,000 readers and is the official journal of Sigma Theta Tau, the nursing honor society.

Garza noted that the search committee was impressed with Gennaro's extensive research, ability to recruit faculty, and willingness to share her experience through mentoring.

These factors were just some of the positive attributes of Gennaro that made her the clear choice as the new dean, he said.

Gennaro expressed her excitement at being chosen as the new dean in the announcement of her appointment. She said, "The Connell School of Nursing deanship is my idea of the perfect deanship. I believe in the values of the Connell School and the University and am really looking forward to working with the stellar faculty and truly exceptional students." Gennaro also noted her continual satisfaction with her choice of nursing as a profession, citing the opportunity to help people at some of the hardest moments in their lives as being truly a gift.