FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 4, 2010
Contact: Anika Mitchell Perkins
(662) 329-7124
aperkins@pa.muw.edu
Kirkpatrick receives Kossen Faculty Excellence Award at MUW
COLUMBUS, Miss. -- Mary Jo Kirkpatrick, chair of the Associate in Science Nursing (ASN) program at Mississippi University for Women, was recently honored with the Kossen Faculty Excellence Award.
The award, which includes a $5,000 stipend, recognizes the role of faculty as the heart of the university. It was established in 2004 by Connie Kossen, a 1964 alumna of MUW, and her husband Tom.
Criterion for the award is based on three fundamentals: excellence in teaching, excellence in scholarly or artistic achievement and excellence in service, preferably both on campus and in communities throughout MUW’s service area. Further, to be considered for this award, a faculty member must exhibit a commitment to student success in each of these three areas of responsibility.
Kirkpatrick has served on many university and nursing committees. Highlights of her university service include facilitating and guiding the ASN faculty through four intensive curriculum reviews to keep the curriculum current and in compliance with all professional accreditation standards and leading the program through three successful accreditation visits.
She also has been recognized as a respected leader in the areas of community service, professional achievement and scholarly achievement. She has served as president of the Mississippi Organization of Associate Degree Nursing, president of Sigma Theta Tau Zeta Rho Chapter of the International Nursing Honor Society and served on numerous professional committees at the state and national level. She is an expert in the area of teaching nursing pharmacology and has written and published five nursing pharmacology study guides for Lippincott Publishers since 2004. She also is a recognized expert in student success and has served as a consultant to other schools of nursing regarding curriculum design for student success, retention and graduation of nursing students and strategies for student retention.
She currently serves as chair of the Board of Directors Quality Committee for the Methodist/LeBonheur Health Care System. Because of her recognized expertise in patient safety she was asked to speak at the 2009 National Forum on Quality Improvement for Health Care, Institute for Health Care Improvements. Her presentation, “The Bottom Line Redefined: Engaging Your Board on Quality and Patient Safety,” was made to physicians and hospitals from all over the United States. In 2014, she will become chair of the Board of Directors of the Methodist/LeBonheur Healthcare System. Recently she was their representative to the Premier Governance Healthcare Forum with former President Bill Clinton which was held in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“Mary Jo is a master teacher with 33 years of experience in the classroom at MUW. Her teaching is always excellent, well received by students, and her student evaluations are consistently good,” said Dr. Sheila Adams, dean of the College of Nursing and Speech-Language Pathology at MUW. “She has incorporated evidenced-based research into her classes, introduced new teaching and learning strategies based on `Best Practices in ASN Education,” and incorporated appropriate technology into her classes.”
Current MUW nursing graduate student Shellie Moffett, a 1997 graduate of the MUW Associate of Science in Nursing Program and 1998 graduate of the MUW Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program, praised Kirkpatrick for being supportive throughout her career.
“I am thankful for Mrs. Kirkpatrick and the encouragement that she has given me over the years. She has been a role model for me in that women can be part of the working profession, continue their education and raise a family all at the same time with a little structure and organization.”
