Campaign launched in response to demand for new faculty and nursing personnel
Bethlehem, PA, November 29, 2021: Today, Moravian University announced they’ve launched a cluster hiring effort to add six full-time nursing faculty in the Helen S. Breidegam School of Nursing and Public Health program. Positions were posted this fall and multiple factors were cited for the cluster hire initiative, including the retirement of faculty, the desire for a more racially and ethnically diverse faculty, and a need to expand the existing nursing programs. This nursing cluster hire effort supports the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan initiated by the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Moravian University in 2021.
“We have had significant growth in the Accelerated BSN, RN to BSN, and Nurse Practitioner programs,” said Diane Husic, dean, school of natural and health sciences at Moravian University. “This demand, combined with the retirement of key faculty and the desire to increase racial and ethnic diversity among our faculty make this cluster hire both exciting and ideal. We also realize the demand for nurses continues to grow and we want to do our part to meet that community need.”
Last year, according to data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), more than 80,000 qualified applicants were not accepted at schools of nursing largely because of shortages of faculty, clinical sites, and other supporting resources. The total included more than 66,000 absent from entry-level baccalaureate programs, though most worrisome to the AACN were the 12,871 applications turned away from graduate programs, which will only further limit the future pool of potential nurse faculty.
“We are now exploring the creation of a Doctor of Nursing Practice curriculum (DNP), which will increase the numbers in our Nurse Practitioner program and afford us the opportunity to provide doctoral education,” said Dawn Goodolf, chairperson of the Helen S. Breidegam School of Nursing and Public Health at Moravian University. “Adding faculty as soon as January of 2022 is a priority and will allow us to serve both our students, and the community at large, for years to come.”
Media contact:
Michael Corr
Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Communications
corrm@moravian.edu
610.861.1365
About Moravian University
Moravian University is the nation's sixth-oldest university, located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees that blend liberal arts with professional programs. For more than 275 years, the Moravian University degree has been preparing students for reflective lives, fulfilling careers, and transformative leadership in a world of change. Moravian University is a member of The New American Colleges and Universities (NAC&U), a national consortium of selective, small to mid-size independent colleges and universities dedicated to the purposeful integration of liberal education, professional studies, and civic engagement. Visit moravian.edu to learn more about how the Moravian University focus on education for all prepares its students for life-long success.
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