NLNAC BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

Carol Easley Allen, PhD, RN
Biographical Sketch

Carol Easley Allen earned a bachelors degree in nursing from Columbia Union College in Takoma Park, Maryland; an arts masters degree in public health nursing with a minor in higher education in nursing from New York University; and a doctor of philosophy degree in nursing from New York University.

Dr. Allen has spent most of her professional career in teaching and administration in nursing and higher education in public, private, and church-related institutions. She has served in nursing education at every level from practical nursing education to doctoral education. After completing a fellowship in higher education administration, she held the position of vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Atlantic Union College and served as acting president of that institution. A public health nurse by specialty, she has practiced and taught in rural and urban settings, both nationally and as a volunteer, internationally. She is the co-founder of Adventists Against AIDS in Africa (A4) a faith-based organization with a mission to Africa, the Caribbean, and inner city America. During the summer of 2006, she developed and taught a 20-hour curriculum on HIV/AIDS prevention as a member of an A4 team in Blantyre, Malawi. A Red Cross certified instructor trainer, she also participates in HIV/AIDS prevention education locally.

Professional activities include serving as president of the American Public Health Association (APHA) and chair of its Executive Board. She has recently chaired APHA’s International Human Rights Committee. She is a member of many nursing and public health professional organizations and honor societies, including Sigma Theta Tau and Phi Delta Kappa. Executive board positions include Loma Linda University; Loma Linda University Health Sciences Center; the Partnership for Clear Health Communication; the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators; Maryland Public Health Association; and Phi Delta Kappa, California State University, Los Angeles Chapter, among others.

She has authored a number of book chapters and refereed articles and has made local national, and international presentations on philosophical research in nursing, the concept of holism, poverty, health disparities, ethics, human rights, a variety of topics in public health and public health nursing, spirituality, terrorism, environmental justice, teaching methodologies, family violence, women’s health, health literacy, correctional health, and caseload/workload analysis. She has served as a reviewer for the American Journal of Nursing, Nursing and Health Care Perspectives, the Journal of Adventist Education, and the American Journal of Public Health.

Accreditation experience includes service as an evaluator for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges; the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools; and the Accrediting Association of Seventh-day Adventist Schools, Colleges and Universities; as well as serving as an external reviewer for doctoral programs in health and human services for Walden University. She has provided curriculum and grants consultation for Rush University, The Catholic University of America, Arizona State University, the University of Tennessee, St. Louis University, and the John A. Hartford Foundation for Geriatric Nursing among others. She serves on the National Program Advisory Council for Western Governors University.

In addition to service as a site visitor for the NLN Council for Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Programs, Dr. Allen has been a coordinating site visitor for the NLN Community Health Accrediting Program. She is a member of the Alabama League for Nursing where she is a member of the By-Laws and Strategic Planning Committee.

Honors include Alumna of the Year, Columbia Union College; Estelle Osborne Certificate of Recognition, New York University, Division of Nursing; and the Centennial Global Service Award, Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center, among others. She is an Honorary Fellow of The Royal Society for the Promotion of Health of Great Britain, Patron: Her Majesty the Queen.

Dr. Allen chairs the Department of Nursing at Oakwood College at Huntsville, Alabama, where she coordinated the development of a generic baccalaureate program in nursing in 2001.