About the College
Interim Dean Announced
Lazelle Benefield, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor and Parry Chair in Gerontological Nursing and Director of the Donald W. Reynolds Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, will serve as Interim Dean of the OU College of Nursing, effective November 1st. Carole Kenner, DNS, RNC-NIC, FAAN, who has served as Dean of the College of Nursing for nearly six years, has accepted a position as Dean at Northeastern University’s School of Nursing in Boston and Associate Dean of the Bouvé College of Health Sciences.
Dr. Benefield is a noted scholar and educator. Prior to joining the OUHSC faculty in 2006, Dr. Benefield held faculty and administrativepositions at Texas Christian University’s Harris College of Nursing and at Old Dominion University. Dr. Benefield’s research and community outreach efforts team distance family caregivers, communication technologists, engineers and nurse scientists in promoting aging in place, especially for older adults with dementia living at home. Among other research awards, she has received a $2.6 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to establish the Reynolds Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence in the College of Nursing.
Dr. Benefield is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing and also holds degrees from the University of Florida, University of Alabama in Birmingham and Old Dominion University. She completed postdoctoral work at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences as a Hartford Foundation Fellow in Geriatrics.
Notable accomplishments during Dr. Kenner’s tenure include:
- establishing partnerships and collaborations to respond to the need for more bachelor’s and graduate-prepared nurses across the state;
- growth in the number of students and programs offered through OUCN;
- approval of the first Ph.D. program in nursing in Oklahoma;
- designation of the OUCN as a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education by the National League of Nursing;
- recruiting nursing scholars to hold the Parry Chair, the Frances E. and A. Earl Ziegler Chair in Palliative Care Nursing, and the Henry J. Freede Chair in Nursing Science; and securing private funds for the Donna Wong Professorship of Pediatric Nursing and the Robert and Doris Klabzuba Professorship of Nursing;
- an increase in giving from alumni and friends and an unprecedented rise in extramural funding;
- bringing many international nursing scholars to OU for study and cross-cultural sharing with Oklahoma students and faculty.
Dr. Kenner’s encouraging spirit and innovation will be missed at OUCN. Alumni and friends wishing to reach her may contact the College of Nursing Dean’s Office.
Copyright ©2008 The Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma, All Rights Reserved.NPP and HIPAA Complaint Information | Equal Opportunity | Copyright | Disclaimer |