Endowed Chairs

Endowed Professorships are the Most Prestigious Faculty Positions at Case Western Reserve University

They are awarded the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing for being widely recognized in making significant contributions to scholarship in nursing. An endowed chair not only provides ongoing support for FPB but also distinction and recognition to the donor, the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, and the holder of the chair.

The Carl W. and Margaret Davis Walter Professorship in Pediatric Nursing
Valerie A. Toly, PhD, RN, CPNP-PC, FAAN

Established in 1992 by Dr. Carl W. and Mrs. Margaret Davis Walter, BSN ’29, in honor of Mrs. Walter. Dr. Walter was an Emeritus Clinical Professor of Harvard University who revamped various medical and surgical procedures, including intravenous therapy, skin preparation for the patient and surgeon, sterilization of instruments, blood transfusions, and operating room procedures. His development of the flexible plastic blood bag and its attachments were a revolution in health care. Early in her career, Mrs. Walter worked as a public health nurse, teaching prenatal and postpartum care. She and Dr. Walter established the professorship to carry forward excellence in clinical pursuits.

Valerie Toly
Valerie Toly, PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN, is a nurse scientist interested in studying the health and well-being of parents caring for children dependent on lifesaving, medical technology such as mechanical ventilation, feeding tubes and supplemental oxygen at home. Her recent work investigates the effectiveness of a resourcefulness intervention that teaches parents self-help and help-seeking skills to promote parents’ physical and mental health as well as overall family functioning and health promotion behaviors such as sleep while they continue to provide vital care for these vulnerable children. Her work has been funded by the National Institute of Health/ National Institute of Nursing Research, Society of Pediatric Nurses, Sigma Theta Tau International-Nursing Honor Society, as well as other private foundations. 
The Elizabeth Brooks Ford Professorship in Nursing
Joyce J. Fitzpatrick, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN, FNAP

Established in 1988 by Mr. and Mrs. David Knight Ford in honor of Elizabeth Brooks Ford (Mrs. David Knight Ford). During her lifetime, Mrs. Ford was the founder and first president of the Cleveland Area League for Nursing, president of the Visiting Nurses Association, and president of the Maternal Health Association (now Planned Parenthood of Cleveland), in addition to serving on the boards of several other nursing organizations. She was appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee on Women in Service after World War II. She was a staunch supporter of the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, serving on FPB’s Visiting Committee from 1958 – 1965, and one of the School’s laboratories was named for her. Mr. Ford was a graduate of the Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1921, and served on the Board of Overseers for Case Western Reserve University.

Joyce Fitzpatrick

Dr. Joyce Fitzpatrick, who was Dean of the FPB School of Nursing from 1982 through 1997, is a pioneer in nursing education, leadership, and research whose work is well-known across five continents. She has provided consultation on nursing education and research throughout the world. In collaboration with the Case School of Medicine, she continues her early work in Uganda, where she has designed a series of educational interventions focused on HIV/AIDS prevention. Her program of research includes health care delivery systems, public policy of health care, and geriatric mental health issues, especially depression and suicide.

The Kate Hanna Harvey Professorship in Community Health Nursing
Carolyn H. Still, PhD, RN, MSN, AGPCNP-BC, CCRP, FAAN

Established in 1944 as the School’s first endowed professorship through a gift made by Mr. R. Livingston Ireland, Jr., Mrs. Margaret Allen Ireland and Miss Elisabeth F. Ireland in memory of Kate Hanna Harvey (Mrs. Perry N. Harvey). Mrs. Harvey was active on the governing bodies of many health agencies in Cleveland. She helped to make possible the post-graduate courses in Public Health Nursing at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and the establishment of the University Nursing District. The professorship was and is still focused on the teaching of public health nursing, which was essential for nursing preparation in the post-World War II era. In 1982, it became the second fully endowed professorship for FPB and the first endowed chair in the country in public health nursing.

Carolyn Harmon Still
The Medical Mutual of Ohio Kent W. Clapp Professorship in Nursing
Faye Gary, EdD, RN, FAAN

Established in 1996 by Medical Mutual of Ohio (previously Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Ohio), income from the endowment is used to support the professorship focused on improving the quality of nursing and health care delivery through research targeted at vulnerable highrisk, high-cost, and high-volume patient groups. When established, it was the largest gift for an endowed professorship in nursing, and was the first chair devoted to health care quality in the United States.

Faye Gary Headshot 2023

Dr. Faye Gary has worked to improve the well-being of children and their families for more than three generations, with her efforts extended throughout the global community. She has an extensive background in psychiatric and mental health nursing and in-depth experiences in community-based research. Uniquely qualified to address health disparities that occur throughout the world, she has developed programs to address this complex issue. Much of her work centers on the prevention and treatment of mental disorders in children and youth that are caused by a multitude of social, economic, and health-related issues.

The Gertrude Perkins Oliva Professorship in Oncology Nursing
Sara L. Douglas, PhD, RN

Established in 1994 in memory of Gertrude Perkins Oliva, who died at age 57 after a four-year battle with cancer. Mrs. Oliva was a board member and former vice president of the Hanna Perkins School in Cleveland for children with emotional problems. The original fund was actually established in 1991, due to the efforts of Kate Ireland (Mrs. Oliva’s cousin), as the Gertrude Perkins Oliva Faculty Development Fund for Cancer Nursing, but due to significant gifts and commitments by all who loved Mrs. Oliva, the fund qualified in a few years for a professorship. The original resolution was amended and renamed in 1994.

Sara Douglas

Dr. Douglas is a professor in the School of Nursing. She earned her MSN at the University of Pennsylvania, and her PhD at Illinois State University. Her research includes long-term ventilation,
daregiving in chronic critical illness, health care outcomes, disease management of the chronically critically Ill, advanced cancer, and caregivers.

The Edward J. and Louise Mellen Professorship in Nursing
Carol M. Musil, Phd, RN, FAAN, FGSA

Established in 1984 through the Mellen Foundation by John D. and Elizabeth G. Drinko in memory of Edward J. Mellen, an investment banker, and his wife, Louise, both long-time residents of the Cleveland area who shared a commitment to the Cleveland community and its institutions. The Mellen’s believed that because their resources came from the community, those resources should be put back into the area’s institutions, particularly those in educational and health fields. The Mellen Foundation has contributed substantial resources to support FPB students preparing for careers in critical nursing care.

Carol Musil Directory

Case Western Reserve University double alumna, distinguished researcher and longtime faculty member, Carol M. Musil, PhD, RN, FAAN, FGSA, is the current Dean of the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, and has been a member of the FPB faculty since 1994. For the past 20 years, she has studied the physical and psychological health of caregivers over time, especially grandmothers raising grandchildren, and how factors such as resourcefulness and support affect health and family well-being especially during times of strain and transitions.

The Florence Cellar Professor of Gerontological Nursing
Evelyn G. Duffy, DNP, RN, AGPCNP-BC, FAANP

Established in 1982, this was the first chair in gerontological nursing in the country and FPB’s first fully endowed professorship. Miss Cellar received her Master of Nursing degree from FPB in 1938 and worked for the next 39 years at University Hospitals, beginning as a staff nurse and rising to a leadership position in the Department of Nursing. She also worked with the University as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing, retiring in 1977. She recognized the need for nursing preparation in this area of nursing as the elderly population grew yearly in our nation; therefore, she established the professorship with a focus on gerontological nursing in memory of her parents, Carrie S. and Wilson F. Cellar.

Evelyn Duffy

Evelyn G. Duffy, DNP, RN, AGPCNP-BC, FAANP, is the Associate Director of the University Center on Aging & Health. She has devoted her career to improving the mental and physical health of older adults, and their caregivers. Her primary teaching interests are gerontology, service learning, and adult primary care. Duffy is part of the research team for the Age-Friendly Health Systems Ambulatory Care Continuum, a partnership between the school of nursing and CVS MinuteClinic to implement age-friendly health practices at 1,100 retail clinics across the United States. The project is funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation.

The May L. Wykle Professorship
Mary T. Quinn Griffin, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF

This professorship, established in 2007 during May L. Wykle’s deanship at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, is the first endowed chair in the university's history to be named after an African-American and one of the first named for an African American woman in nursing at a major research university in the United States. Considering the rarity that professorships are actually established for current deans (most are created after a dean retires), also distinguishes this professorship. It celebrates the profound impact that Dean May L. Wykle has made on the nursing profession based on her pioneering efforts, commitment to excellence in nursing education, tireless dedication to helping others succeed, and personal life experiences. Dr. Wykle is nationally recognized as an expert in the field of aging adults, and she has received international recognition for her extensive research in geriatric mental health, family and minority caregiving, and dementia. She has initiated educational programs in Europe, Africa, and Asia, including helping to start a Master of Science in Nursing program at the University of Zimbabwe in Africa.

Mary Quinn Griffin

Mary T. Quinn Griffin, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF, is a professor and institutional researcher at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. Her research focuses include genetics, cardiac care, chronic diseases across the lifespan, and women's health. As Associate Dean for Global Affairs at the school of nursing, Griffin leads the study abroad and international programming. She is also the Assistant Provost of Outcome Assessment and Accreditation in the Office of the Provost at Case Western Reserve University.

The Lucy Jo Atkinson Professorship in Perioperative Nursing
Rebecca M. Patton, DNP, RN, CNOR, FAAN

This position is in concert with the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing's strategic plan and is supported entirely through the generosity of Lucy Jo Atkinson, an FPB alumna and longtime leader in perioperative nursing. Ms. Atkinson's donations were given as an important step toward the development of a substantive curriculum component focused on the nursing role in the operating room. This component will give FPB students exposure to a valuable nursing role, provide a mechanism for teaching critical content related to asepsis and infection control, and address the growing need for nurses prepared to function in an operating room setting.

Rebecca Patton

As an FPB alum and two-term immediate past president of the American Nurses Association (ANA), Rebecca M. Patton has extensive inpatient and outpatient experience. She has been responsible for the start-up and ongoing operations of ambulatory medical centers, an inpatient acute facility, and a skilled nursing facility. While president of the ANA, Patton led a contingent of nurses in a press conference with President Barack Obama in the White House Rose Garden on July 15, 2009 to encourage lawmakers, nurses, and other healthcare professionals across the country to voice their commitment to healthcare reform. Previously, she was the director of perioperative services for Cleveland's EMH Regional Healthcare System and has also served as director of nursing, director of surgical services, and director of ambulatory operations for hospitals in the University Hospitals Health System in Cleveland.

The Independence Foundation Professorship in Nursing Education
 

Committed in 1989 by the Independence Foundation of Philadelphia, PA, and formally established in 1991, this professorship was part of a $10.8 million grant to nursing education at nine top private nursing schools and programs across the nation. The Foundation was seeking to bring national attention to the nursing shortage, and therefore decided to aggressively fund scholarships as well as establish the endowment of nine nursing education chairs in an unprecedented and historic move.

 

The Marvin E. and Ruth Durr Denekas Chair
Deborah F. Lindell, DNP, RN, CNE, ANEF, FAAN

The Marvin E. and Ruth Durr Denekas Chair was established to support excellence in academic education for nurses. Ruth Durr Denekas died in 1994; her husband died in 2006. The couple made plans to establish the chair and scholarship funds prior to their deaths so they would know that their hard-earned savings would go to their favorite cause—nursing education. Per the couple's request, the balance of the funds will be used for academic scholarships in memory of Ruth's parents, Frederick and Mary Durr.

Deb Lindell

Deborah F. Lindell, PhD, RN, CNE, ANEF, FAAN, is a longtime faculty member of the school of nursing. An expert in public health nursing, she has taught public health in Vietnam and China. She recently earned a Fulbright scholarship to develop nursing curriculum and teach public health northwest Kenya. She has served as assistant director of the DNP program.

The Sarah C. Hirsh Professorship
Mary Dolansky, PhD, RN, FAAN

Established in 1999 through the estate of Sarah Cole Hirsh, MN ’45, who graduated from the School as a member of the Cadet Nurse Program. She was a member of the Case Western Reserve University Board of Governors from 1960 – 1966. Throughout her career, Mrs. Hirsh was a dedicated volunteer to the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing. She served as a national chairman for the University Medical Center Development Program and helped raise major funds for the construction of the School’s current building. Mrs. Hirsh left $4.4 million to FPB, $1.25 million of which established the professorship; $1.8 million to establish a scholarship and financial aid fund to benefit baccalaureate nursing students; and $950,000 to establish the Sarah Cole Hirsh Institute for Best Practices Based on Evidence.

Mary Dolansky
Mary Dolansky, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the National Nurse Director of the Veterans Administration Quality Scholars Program. Nurse pre- and post-doctoral fellows study improvement and implementation science methods to advance our understanding of imitating and sustaining change. She also directs the QSEN Institute that is a world-wide resource center for the implementation of quality and safety competencies into both academia and practice. Dolansky is the principal investigator for the Age-Friendly Health Systems Ambulatory Care Continuum, a partnership between the school of nursing and CVS MinuteClinic to implement age-friendly health practices at 1,100 retail clinics across the United States. The project is funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation.
The Arline H. and Curtis F. Garvin Professorship in Nursing
Diana L. Morris, PhD, RN, FAAN, FGSA

Established in 2001 through a bequest from the Arline H. and Curtis F. Garvin estate (Arline H. Garvin, BSN ’66, and Curtis F. Garvin, BA ’29, MD ’32, former School of Medicine faculty member). The holder of this professorship is required to be an outstanding scholar and researcher. The Garvin’s estate established four professorships at Case Western Reserve University: two at the FPB School of Nursing and two at the School of Medicine. During their lifetimes, the Garvins had long supported the School of Nursing and School of Medicine through scholarship funds established at both schools for students and annual support for both schools.

Diana Morris at Centennial Gala 2023
 
The Ruth M. Anderson Professorship
Ronald L. Hickman, Jr., PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, FAAN

Established in 2010 as an unrestricted chair to be appointed at the dean's discretion, this professorship is endowed by emerita professor and former administrator Ruth Anderson, MN '45, MSN '54, PhD. Dr. Anderson's teaching career began at FPB in 1954, where from 1983-85 she was associate dean of academic affairs. She was recognized with the title of professor emerita in 1985 by the CWRU Board of Trustees. She also received the FPB Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumna Award in 1985. In making this new commitment, Dr. Anderson says that she "wanted to do something that would celebrate the role of teaching and leadership in the profession of nursing and ensure the recruitment of passionate teachers well into the future."

Ron Hickman, Jr.
Ronald L. Hickman, Jr., PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, FAAN, is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Research at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University. He is a registered nurse and a board-certified acute care nurse practitioner who has provided care for patients undergoing general and
cardiothoracic surgical procedures, and patients in the intensive care unit. As a nurse scientist, Hickman is nationally known for his pioneering work focused on technology-based solutions to improve chronic disease self-management and end-of-life care. His innovative work integrates knowledge from several disciplinary domains to develop technologies and understand biobehavioral mechanisms that influence how patients and their families make decisions and manage their health or illness. As principal or co-investigator, his research has received more than $12 million in competitively funded grants from
several institutes within the National Institutes of Health, and numerous national foundations. He served as a contributing editor for the American Journal of Critical Care and serves on the editorial boards of Nursing Outlook, and Research in Nursing and Health.

 

The Arline H. and Curtis F. Garvin Professorship in Nursing Excellence
Susan Mazanec, PhD, RN, AOCN, FAAN
More info coming soon
Susan Mazanec Headshot 2023
The JoAnn Zlotnick Glick Endowed Professorship in Community Health Nursing
Melissa Kline, DNP, RN, NEA-BC
More info coming soon
Melissa Kline Headshot 2023
The Catherine Seibyl BSN, MSN, MPH Professorship in Nursing, Research and Caregiving
Jaclene A. Zauszniewski, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN
More info coming soon
Jaclene Zauszniewski
Dr. Jaclene Zauszniewski serves as the Associate Dean for Doctoral Education as well as the Program Director for the PhD Program. She has pioneered work on “learned resourcefulness,” a collection of skills for coping with adversity and has over 28 years of nursing practice, including 18 years in the field of psychiatric-mental health nursing. Her program of research focuses on the identification of factors and strategies to prevent depression and to preserve healthy functioning during depressive episodes across the lifespan. She is best known for her research examining the development and testing of nursing interventions to teach resourcefulness skills to elders with chronic illness.