Huntington appoints Department of Nursing director
FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Huntington, Ind.-Huntington University has appointed Margaret Winter as the director for the new Department of Nursing. Winter will begin her position in the fall of 2007. "The excitement of Huntington University and the community for a nursing program was obvious and contagious during my interviews," Winter said. "There is a good deal of support for beginning this program, and I am looking forward to the challenges and the achievements that will be a part of this developing opportunity."
For six years, Winter has served in the Olivet Nazarene University Department of Nursing where she teaches in both the undergraduate traditional program and the Bachelor of Science in Nursing completion tract. Her specialty area is obstetrics, though she also teaches transcultural nursing and supervises pediatric clinicals.
Prior to coming to Olivet, Professor Winter taught at Indiana Wesleyan University as adjunct faculty in the Registered Nurse-BSN completion program and Scott Community College in Iowa. In addition to teaching at the Olivet, Winter works at Dukes Memorial Hospital in Peru, Ind., on the obstetrical unit and in the Day Surgery Department.
Winter holds a Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Illinois and a Master of Science degree in nursing from Northern Illinois University. She is a doctoral candidate at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. She also is a member of the Kappa Sigma Honor Society of Nursing in which she served as a faculty counselor for several years.
"Margaret brings both clinical and educational experience to our program," said Dr. Norris Friesen, vice president and dean of the university. "I am not only impressed with her experience but also her commitment and passion to teach nursing. Margaret has a heart for missions and views nursing as a vital way to communicate the good news of the gospel."
Winter is a pastor's wife and works with her husband Tony at the Church of the Nazarene in Peru. She is an advocate against child abuse and gives lectures on Shaken Baby Syndrome.
"The university is privileged to have Margaret Winter as director of the Nursing Department," said Dr. Pat Pierce, interim director of the nursing program. "Margaret comes to us with a wealth of experience in teaching, missions and service. She understands the Christian ministry of the university as well as the discipline of nursing and is an outstanding role model."
Pierce has expressed a willingness to continue her affiliation with the program, and the university is pursuing part-time options with her. Since September 2006, she has worked on developing a nursing curriculum, arranging for clinical facilities, assisting in the recruitment of nursing faculty and aiding in the development of the lab.
Huntington University faculty approved adding a BSN degree after two years of formal study. The new program was initially proposed by the Division of Natural and Mathematical Sciences in late 2003, one year after the university opened its state-of-the-art, 93,000 square foot Science Hall, the largest and most high-tech facility on campus.
