Dr. Nena F.
Sanders, dean of Samford University’s Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing,
has been named one of 60 Visionary Leaders in a program that celebrates
the 60th anniversary of the University
of Alabama (UAB) School of Nursing.
Dean Sanders and
the other leaders will be recognized at a luncheon Oct. 22 at The Club.
UAB established the awards “to celebrate the school’s renowned
graduates and their mark on nursing,” said UAB nursing
dean Doreen Harper. Sanders earned her Bachelor, Master and Doctor of
Science in Nursing degrees from UAB. Nurse practitioners, health care
administrators, university presidents, deans and professors from around
the globe are included in the 60.
“Nena Sanders’
selection as a visionary health care leader is a reflection of the
visionary leadership she has brought to the Ida V. Moffett School of
Nursing at Samford,” said Samford provost and executive
vice president J. Bradley Creed. “Under her guidance and direction, the
nursing program has experienced tremendous growth and quality
improvement in its academic offerings. I am privileged to be her
colleague at Samford and I congratulate Dean Sanders on this
remarkable recognition.”
Sanders has been
active in nursing, nursing education, nursing administration and health
care consulting for more than 30 years, and is considered an expert in
the development, implementation and evaluation
of nursing educational programs.
She joined the
Samford nursing faculty in 1999 and was named Ralph W. Beeson Dean of
the school in 2001. As dean, she has provided leadership in
establishing a nurse anesthesia program and a Doctor of
Nursing Practice degree program. This fall, Samford has 638 nursing
students enrolled including 263 graduate students—both all-time highs.
Sanders has served on the editorial boards of the
Journal of Nursing Administration Research and the Journal of Critical Care Nursing.
She is an on-site evaluator for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing
Education (CCNE), a national accrediting agency. She is a member of
numerous professional
organizations and has served in various leadership capacities for these
organizations.