NLNAC BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Brenda Nichols, DNSc, RN
Biographical Sketch
Brenda
S. Nichols earned her ASN, BSN and MA degrees for the University of
Evansville in Evansville, Indiana. She
earned another 21 hours toward a Master of Science in Nursing from the
University of Evansville before receiving a DNSc from Indiana University in
Indianapolis, IN.
She
worked initially in acute care settings at Community Methodist Hospital in
Henderson, KY. Her clinical
experiences include cardiac care, emergency room and infection control.
She worked as an Assistant Director of Nursing—shift supervisor before
accepting a position as a school nurse in the Vanderburgh County Schools.
She
has been employed in education for more than 20 years in a variety of
institutions--small private institutions (Kentucky Wesleyan College, University
of Evansville); public doctoral institutions (University of Southern Mississippi
and Old Dominion University) and comprehensive universities in Australia
(Southern Cross University) and Texas (Lamar University).
At the University of Southern Mississippi, she served as the Director of
Nursing Research and was responsible for statistical consultation with faculty
and students. Currently, she is
employed as the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Lamar University.
She
is listed in various biographical sources: Who's Who in America, Who's Who in
the South, and Who's Who of American Women.
Her
professional memberships have included: American Association of Colleges of
Nursing, Institutional Representative; National League for Nursing; Phi Kappa
Phi National Honor Society; and Sigma Theta Tau International.
She is a Fellow in the Royal College of Nursing Australia. She was a
nursing education consultant for the University of Indonesia as a part of a WHO
effort in that country.
She has served as an NLNAC program evaluator since 1991 having
made more than 20 site visits. She
has served as a member of NLNAC Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Review Panel
from 1995 to 2001 and was reappointed in 2005.
She is experienced with assessment of outcomes on a state, national and
international level. She has been
an external reviewer for nursing programs in the US including the Uniformed
Services University of Health Sciences, five universities in Australia and one
in Indonesia, in addition to being a member of state level nursing review teams
in Oklahoma and South Carolina. She has also served as a both a program and
grant reviewer for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
She
has served on numerous committees of state, regional and national organizations.
She was elected to offices in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing
and the Texas Association of Dean of Liberal Arts & Sciences. She
is currently serving as President of the organization.
She has received more than $4 million dollars in external
funding for nursing education programs. Publications include a co-authored test
bank, several chapters in books, two monograph with17 referred publications and
more than 40 presentations at
local, state, regional and national meetings and international
presentations/consultation in Australia, Germany, Italy, and Korea since 1990.