News Release
September 2003
(Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)—Janet A. Sipple, RN, Ed.D., professor
and chair of St. Luke’s School of Nursing at Moravian College,
and dean of St. Luke’s School of Nursing at St. Luke’s
Hospital, has been selected to receive the Honorary Degree of Doctor
of the University of Queensland, (DUniv honoris causa), at the spring
commencement exercises on September 13, 2003, in Toowoomba, Australia.
In addition to the Honorary Degree, the University Council has invited
Dr. Sipple to serve for a three-year appointment, as Honorary Professor
in the Faculty of Sciences, where she will continue to pursue her professional
relationship with the University and the Nursing Programme.
Sipple joined the College of Southern Queensland
(USQ) as their international colleague in the pursuit of excellence
in nursing education, as it
was emerging into the Australian higher education system. Major efforts
were to design a new nursing program and to bring the discipline of
NURSING into the University’s educational program. Curriculum
development, hiring faculty, training the clinical nursing faculty
and collaborating with other science disciplines were some of the challenges
to be solved.
It was a particular challenge to convince local and professional health
care communities of the wisdom of university nursing education. The
benchmark success for this collaborative initiative was the enrollment
of the first class of 200+ students for the Nursing Programme at USQ.
When Sipple returns to Toowoomba for the commencement
ceremony she plans to work with the nursing unit relative to professional
issues,
nursing education/practice/ research, and faculty/student dialog in
small groups. Sipple intends also to meet with 4 USQ students that
Moravian College and St. Luke’s Hospital will once again host
in November 2003. Moravian College and USQ have an international student
agreement for student exchange. . In 2001, four nursing students from
Australia spent the fall semester at Moravian and St. Luke’s
Hospital. In May 2002, four members of the charter class of the School
of Nursing learned about clinical practice in Australia during a month
long study trip. This summer, Jennifer Oakley ’05, Carbondale,
went to Australia to compare nursing methods using a qualitative study
she developed. Four more students are slated to come to Moravian for
the 2003 Fall term.
