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Recruited from Wayne State University
in Detroit, Dean Joyce Fitzpatrick brought a national reputation as a scholar in community
health, gerontology, and psychiatric-mental health. She was noted for her research on the
process of dying, publishing Nursing Models and Their Psychiatric-Mental
Health Applications the year she became dean. In 1983, with Ann Whall, Fitzpatrick
edited Conceptual Models of Nursing. Analysis and Application, a book that
has become one of the standard texts in nursing theory. Her "rhythm model"
demonstrated the influence of time on patients in a variety of situations. When Fitzpatrick took over the position of dean in 1982, the Bolton School was experiencing difficult financial problems. Her first challenge was to put the School on a secure financial footing. Declining enrollments and decreasing grant opportunities throughout the University in the early 1980s had affected morale. Within three years Fitzpatrick was able to balance the School's budget without dipping into the School's original endowment, a significant achievement, and one on which the rest of her initiatives could be built. During her tenure as dean, she increased the endowment to $40 million, making the Bolton School one of the most generously endowed nursing schools in the country. Fitzpatrick won funding for eight new chairs in nursing, the largest number of endowed chairs in any nursing school. The Center on Aging and Health (led by Dr. May Wykle) has become the focal point for the Bolton School's leading work in gerontological and geriatric research, education, and practice. Its specific mission is to "foster collaboration among scholars, learners, and practitioners in order to advance and disseminate state-of-the-art knowledge about the aging process and its implications for individuals, families, communities, and societies."40 The Center for Research, founded in 1990, became another focal point for realizing the research goals for the School. Significant funding for research was secured from the National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Institute on Aging. To encourage research by graduate students, Ph.D. students organized the Rosemary Ellis Scholar's Retreat, held annually to explore the meanings of nursing science. The N.D. program, restructured to enhance opportunities for developing skills needed for advanced clinical nursing practice, continued to attract superior students. 40 "University Center for Aging and Health: 'Vision 2000' Strategic Planning Document," School of Nursing Annual Report, 1995-96. |
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