History and Organization

At its founding in 1953, the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing offered the first baccalaureate nursing program in public higher education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

 

 

History and Accreditation

History

At its founding in 1953, the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing offered the first baccalaureate nursing program in public higher education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Four years later, the College launched the first Master of Science degree program, and, in 1994, the state's first publicly supported PhD program in Nursing in collaboration with The University of Massachusetts Medical College Graduate School of Nursing. In 2005, the College offered its first PhD program, sponsored uniquely by the College of Nursing, and, in 2006, the first Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) program in the state.

Continuous accreditation, first by the National League for Nursing and currently by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), along with the success of graduates in passing both licensing and certification exams, testify to the enduring quality of the College's programs, faculty, and curriculum.

The Elaine Marieb College of Nursing is one of the twelve schools and colleges comprising the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which was founded in 1863. The University classified among the Carnegie "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity"  and it is the flagship campus of the five-campus Massachusetts public university system. Sponsored research now totals over $230 million a year, with increasing emphasis on the life sciences and biotechnology applications.

Embodying the University's commitment to high quality, accessible education, the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing is committed to meeting the challenges faced by the nursing profession in the context of the changing dynamics of society and the delivery of health care.

In 2008 the College of Nursing moved to the renovated Skinner Hall. The move to our own building in the center of the campus sent a clear message that the Commonwealth and the University are committed to building a solid future for nursing education and scholarship that will benefit residents of the state and beyond.

On September 16, 2021, The University announced the College of Nursing to be renamed the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing in honor or Elaine Nicpon Marieb, a teacher, philanthropist, author and distinguished alumna of the University of Massachusetts, and the College of Nursing.

Accreditation

The  Elaine Marieb College of Nursing as part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is accredited by the  New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) The baccalaureate degree program in nursing, master's degree program in nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice program, and post-graduate APRN certificate program at the University of Massachusetts are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (www.ccneaccreditation.org) and prelicensure programs are approved by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing. PhD programs are accredited by NECHE, the same agency that accredits the entire University.

Values, Vision, Mission, and Goals

Vision

EMCON community-members leading and transforming healthcare delivery, patient care, and equity in service to the wellbeing of all.

Mission

The Elaine Marieb College of Nursing advances nursing education, practice & research to promote health and health equity.

Values

We, the faculty of the College of Nursing, are committed to:

Caring and Collaborative Relationships

  • Caring and compassion as the heart of evidence-based nursing practice.
  • Collaboration with clients, nursing, and interdisciplinary peers as essential to enhancing health and healing.
  • Attending to the needs and input of vulnerable and underserved populations.

Leadership

  • Nursing's contribution to reducing health inequities and promoting health in a global society.
  • An environment that enhances the social conscience and professional development of all members of the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing.
  • The knowledge that environments are interrelated systems that affect and are affected by nursing practice, culture, and public policy, where students develop their identity as agents for innovation in the world.

Excellence

  • The reciprocal relationships among teaching, scholarship, and engagement.
  • Encouraging integrity and high moral character in all members of the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing.
  • Becoming reflective practitioners to increase the authenticity of our work (Boyer,1990).

Innovation

  • Creative ways of acquiring, managing, and sharing knowledge.

Diversity

  • Striving to design and provide culturally sensitive nursing care in a global society
  • Promoting diversity in our College and in the profession.

Lifelong Learning

  • Arts, humanities, and sciences as a foundation for nursing education.
  • Learning as a dynamic, collaborative process, that promotes mutual growth of students and teachers.

Goals

Engagement Goal

Establish innovative scholarly engagement models that define and respond to the health of the public. Our objectives are to:

  1. Contribute to the search for answers to the most pressing social, civic, economic, and moral problems facing our profession and world today (Boyer, 1990).
  2. Facilitate and enhance an organizational culture of diversity that promotes the success of collaborative partnerships, relationships, and affiliations within a global community.
  3. Promote and expand faculty teaching, scholarship, service and practice, which reflects faculty expertise and needs of our communities of interest
  4. Promote faculty development and systematic understanding through a variety of mechanisms that would include:
    1. Coordinating access to all existing internal university resources
    2. Securing external global resources.
    3. Mentoring faculty in the ongoing development of their academic   careers
  5. Contribute to systematic and structural improvement of the University and UMass systems.
  6. Promote service to the underserved and vulnerable populations in our region.

Teaching Goal

We prepare professional nurses by creating an innovative environment for inquiry, discovery, and learning with diverse populations. Our objectives are to:

  1. Ensure a flexible, learner-centered environment that uses information technology to its fullest potential to ensure collaboration and inclusivity.
  2. Foster the advancement of students through graduate education.
  3. Ensure a comprehensive, cohesive curriculum which prepares students for leadership in a changing and diverse sociopolitical world.

Scholarship Goal

Enhance the art and science of nursing by creating, translating, and disseminating knowledge. Our objectives are to:

  1. Facilitate the scholarship of discovery through integration, application, and teaching.
  2. Foster a creative environment that supports scholarship activities
  3. Enhance mechanisms for interdisciplinary scholarship.

Deans, Directors, and Support Staff

For a complete and most current list of EMCON faculty and staff, please visit our directory. If this page needs updating, contact our nursing [at] UMass [dot] edu (communications team) and include the page URL.

Deans

  • Dean of the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing: Allison Vorderstrasse. BS in Nursing, Mount Saint Mary College; MS in Nursing, Adult Nurse Practitioner - Diabetes Specialty Concentration, Yale University School of Nursing; DNSc, (Chronic Illness Self-Management), Yale University School of Nursing; NIH/NINR Summer Genetics Institute Certificate, Certified APRN (Diabetes Specialty); Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, Professor. Research Interests: Diabetes, chronic illness. 
  • Associate Dean for Academic Affairs: unfilled. 
  • Associate Dean of Equity and Inclusion: Jess Dillard-Wright. BS Science Technology & Culture, Georgia Institute of Technology; MA, Women’s History, Sarah Lawrence College; MSN, Clinical Nurse Leader, Medical College of Georgia; MSN, Community Based Nurse Midwifery Program, Frontier Nursing University; PhD, Augusta University. 
  • Associate Dean for Research: Michael Lepore. BA Philosophy & Psychology, Assumption University; Graduate Certificate, Gerontology, Georgia State University; MA, Sociology, Georgia State University; PhD, Sociology, Georgia State University. 

  • Assistant Dean of Finance and Administration: Bill Kilbride. MS, Accounting. 

  • Assistant Dean of Strategic Partnerships: Olivia Frazier. 

Program Directors

  • Director of Master's and Graduate Certificate Programs: Gabrielle P. Abelard. BS in Nursing, University of Massachusetts, Amherst College of Nursing; MS in Mental Health Nursing, Adult Clinical Nurse Specialist, University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Nursing; Post Masters Certificate in Nursing, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Regis College Richard and Sheila Young School of Nursing; DNP (Integrative Health), Regis College Richard and Sheila Young School of Nursing. Clinical Professor. 
  • Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program Director: Terrie Black. BS, Pennsylvania State University; MBA, concentration in Healthcare Administration. Western New England University, DNP, concentration in Public Health Nurse Leader, University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Nursing. Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse (CRRN),  Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA), Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), Clinical Professor. Clinical interest in Quality outcomes, reimbursement, stroke systems of care, reimbursement models and public health. 
  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Program Director: Rae Walker. BA, BS in Biology and English, University of Virginia; BSN, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellowship, Johns Hopkins University; Oncology Certified Nurse, Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.  Professor. Research Interests: Nursing invention and co-creative processes founded on the principles of design justice as vehicles for achieving health equity and social justice, community-directed digital defense against harmful forms of big data, A.I., and other surveillant technologies. 

Graduate Support Staff

Office of Research

Strategic Partnerships

Donor Relations

  • Chief Development Officer, University of Massachusetts Amherst Foundation: Crystal Neuhauser
  • Associate Director, Donor Relations, University of Massachusetts Amherst Foundation: Benjamin Monat