Immaculata Names Dean Of New College Of Nursing & Health Professions

EAST WHITELAND, PA — Registered nurse Mary Powell was selected as the founding dean of Immaculata University’s new College of Nursing and Health Professions on the East Whiteland Township campus in Chester County.

Powell of Ridley Park, Delaware County, started her new role on New Year’s Day to prepare for the opening of the college in the fall semester of 2023.

She began teaching graduate-level nursing classes at Immaculata in the fall of 2022.

Powell is in the process of collaborating with faculty to develop a Family Nurse Practitioner program in response to health care market needs.

“We are grateful to have Mary Powell’s depth of health care and higher ed experience as she leads the students, faculty and staff of the new College of Nursing and Health Professions,” Barbara Lettiere, college president, said Friday.

“She will ensure that our students are prepared for in-demand professions and will position the new college at the forefront of health care education.”

This year, Powell plans to present a talk on "An Introduction to the Social Determinants of Health at the Project W: Women’s Connect Series, Springfield.

Powell is a registered nurse with over four decades of experience.

Experience

She began her career at Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park, Delaware County, after graduating from the Chester County Hospital School of Nursing, West Chester.

Her clinical experience includes medical surgical nursing, pediatric primary care, hospice and palliative care, and most recently primary care with a focus of working with patients with type 2 diabetes.

Powell has also taught at multiple colleges and universities, including Radford University of Nursing, Radford, Va.; Neumann University, Aston; Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia; and Widener University School of Nursing Clinics, Chester.

Powell is also a published peer-reviewed author with publications in topics such as systemic lupus erythematosus, nonpharmacologic care in heart failure, health literacy, and others.

She has presented more than 15 times at the local, regional, national and international levels.
She presented in Ireland on a strategy to improve health literacy for the Annual Health Literacy UK Conference.

Education

Powell received her bachelor of science in Nursing from Eastern College, Radnor Township, and Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She also earned a Ph.D. from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. concentrating in nursing research and chronic illness.
She was awarded the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Doctoral Studies and Research. In 2016, Powell received the Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching from Neumann University.