Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry announced the launch of its new school of nursing and inaugural dean. This launch will enable Mercy to further enhance its nursing programs, better serve its students and help meet the growing need for nurses in the tri-state area and across the nation.
Dr. Kenya V. Beard, Ed.D., AGACNP-BC, ANEF, FAAN, is the inaugural dean of the new school. She has spent more than two decades in higher education working to narrow the academic achievement gap and strengthen workforce diversity in nursing.
The new School of Nursing will house Mercy”™s full suite of nursing programs, which were previously part of the School of Health and Natural Sciences; these include traditional four-year undergraduate prelicensure programs and an accelerated second-degree program for those with existing bachelor”™s degrees in other fields, and master”™s programs in nursing education, nursing administration and family nurse practitioner studies.
“There is a great demand for highly trained nurses and over the last 8 years, Mercy has been working to expand its nursing programs to help alleviate the nursing shortage,” said Tim Hall, president of Mercy College. “Today”™s announcement furthers Mercy”™s mission and commitment to continue investing in its programs to meet the demands of the region”™s workforce.”
There is an estimated need for more than 200,000 new registered nurses nationally each year through 2026 to replace retirees and fill new positions according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics. Mercy College has been educating nurses for more than 45 years; first at the baccalaureate level and since 1981 at the master”™s level as well. Over the last several years, Mercy has grown its nursing programs to offer more in-demand undergraduate and graduate degree programs. This includes the four-year-traditional nursing program, which has tripled in size since its inception in 2015 and the accelerated second-degree nursing program and the family nurse practitioner master”™s program, both introduced in 2019 when Mercy absorbed more than 300 nursing students from The College of New Rochelle (CNR) as part of a teach-out agreement due to its closing. In 2021, Mercy started a weekend accelerated second degree program at the Bronx Campus to offer those who work during the week the opportunity to earn their degree.
Mercy has more than 1,100 students currently enrolled in its nursing programs, and awards over 400 nursing degrees annually. Many of Mercy”™s graduates go on to work in area hospitals.
Prior to her appointment at Mercy, Beard served as associate provost at Chamberlain University. Her vision of strengthening the preparedness of faculty to meet the needs of today”™s nursing students resulted in the creation of the first Nurse Faculty Residency program in the country. The Harvard Macy Institute”™s Program for Educators in the Health Professions supports her workshop, “Leading in a Race-Conscious Society” and as a 2012 Macy Faculty Scholar, she founded the Center for Multicultural Education and Health Disparities. Her publications and research have focused on best practices to move the needle on diversity, inclusion and health equity. She is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Nursing, the Academy of Nursing Education, serves on the advisory council for the American Academy of Nursing”™s Institute for Nursing Leadership, and is an editorial board member for the American Journal of Nursing.
Beard completed her AAS and BSN degrees at Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing and Excelsior College in New York, respectively. She earned her MSN at Stony Brook University and Ed.D. in educational administration at Dowling College.
