Photo By Lori Dugan: Eastern Arizona College Nursing Professor Amy Ollerton provides instruction to Chanelle Arpon, Jonathan Orr, and Randi Estrada, all students in the concurrent enrollment program.
By Kris McBride
THATCHER, Ariz. — The National League for Nursing (NLN) has named Eastern Arizona College’s (EAC) Nursing Program a Center of Excellence for enhanced student learning and professional development. Fifteen other nursing programs nationwide – across the academic spectrum of higher education in nursing and leading teaching hospitals and clinical sites – shared this distinction and will be formally recognized at a national honors convocation.
“Our students have been the most important focus in our program,” said Carolyn McCormies, EAC director of nursing and division chair for Nursing and Allied Health. “This designation underscores our faculty’s commitment to exceptional outcomes in socializing students, professional involvement, and lifelong learning and creativity. We are humbled to be recognized by our peers alongside such prestigious programs throughout the nation.”
Each year since 2004, the NLN has invited nursing schools to apply for Center of Excellence in Nursing Education designation. Applicants are rated based on their ability to demonstrate, in measurable terms, sustained excellence in faculty development, nursing education research, or student learning and professional development.
“Congratulations to the exceptional institutions who comprise the 2018 class of NLN Centers of Excellence,” said NLN President G. Rumay Alexander, associate vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion/chief diversity officer and professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “The individuals behind this label, the faculty, deans, and administrators, deserve our deepest gratitude for creating and sustaining educational excellence in nursing. Center of Excellence faculty and staff bear a responsibility to share their experience, knowledge, and wisdom for the benefit of everyone in nursing education.”
“We are honored to be recognized as an NLN Center of Excellence,” said Dr. Phil McBride, dean of instruction for EAC. “This recognition not only affirms the excellence of our faculty, but also challenges us to continually evaluate our teaching-learning strategies, innovate approaches to education, and provide opportunities for our faculty to grow and be creative into the future.”
About EAC’s Nursing Program
For more than 30 years, EAC’s Nursing Program has prepared students for immediate entry into the workforce and for pursuing advanced practice, leadership, administration, education and research roles. Graduates can be found working almost anywhere – hospitals, communities, schools, homes, and battlefields – positively impacting the quality of healthcare delivery. The program features concurrent enrollment programs with Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University, allowing students to obtain a bachelor of science in nursing while completing an associate degree. The baccalaureate program offers hybrid classes, highly qualified faculty, and special reduced tuition rates for EAC students. Prospective students are encouraged to contact the program at admissions@eac.edu<mailto:admi
