Staying Connected: Building a Strong Community While in an Online Program

Dr. Judy Beal retired in May 2019 after having held many leadership roles in her 46 years as a nurse. She most recently served as Professor and Dean of the College of Natural, Behavioral, and Health Sciences and the Chief Academic Nursing Officer in the School of Nursing at Simmons University with responsibility for seven academic programs. Prior to coming to Simmons in 1983, Dr. Beal taught at Boston University and Skidmore College. Dr. Beal has been a leader in nursing education since 1978. At Simmons she was instrumental in building early innovative models of academic practice partnerships locally and then globally. In Boston, the unique model of "hospital as client” with the hospital financing the academic progression of employees in RN- BSN and RN-MSN programs grew from 1 partnership 5 years ago to 8 partnerships. With foundation funding, she partnered with the University of Cairo to replicate an accelerated second degree BSN program for unemployed university graduates. This effort significantly advanced workforce capacity and elevated the level of professional nursing practice in Egypt. With academic and practice partners in Saudi Arabia and with philanthropists in Bangladesh and Israel she is further replicating these programs.

As a RWJ Executive Nurse Fellow from 2008-2011, she created a national forum on academic-practice partnership by successfully engaging a national association to identify this issue as a strategic priority. She developed and co-led the AACN-AONE Task Force on Academic-Practice Partnerships. This group has significantly elevated the conversation on and strategy for developing academic-practice partnerships. She currently co-chairs the AACN- AONL Advisory Board for Academic-Practice Partnerships.

She has served as president, secretary, director and chair in many organizations including: Sigma Theta Tau International, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the Massachusetts Association of Colleges of Nursing (MACN), Massachusetts Association of Registered Nurses (MARN), and Yale University Alumni Association. Most recently, she was elected Chair-Elect of AACN.

Dr. Beal is widely published with more than 125 peer reviewed articles. Her well- funded program of research focuses on role development of neonatal nurse practitioners and for the past 19 years on the development of a model of clinical nurse scholars. She is sought after as a regional and national speaker. Dr. Beal is on the editorial boards of The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing as well as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Pediatric Nursing, the Journal of Professional Nursing, Nursing Outlook, and Research in Nursing and Health. For the past five years, she has edited the bi-monthly Hot Topics in Pediatric Nursing column in The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing.

Dr. Beal received her BSN from Skidmore College, her MSN from Yale University, and DNSc from Boston University. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and the National Academies of Practice. Dr Beal is the proud and loving mother of two adult children, Bradley and Emily, and grandmother to Brady and Tyler who live in San Francisco and to three month old Leigh who lives in Boston

Prior to becoming a woman’s health nurse practitioner, Karen Crowley worked in labor and delivery/postpartum for eight years as a registered nurse. She received her master’s degree in nursing from Simmons College and was certified as an Adult and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner in 1995. She has maintained current practice in this advance practice role for the past 24 years, during which time she actively precepts nurse practitioner students. Since 1998, Dr. Crowley has been employed at Regis College, beginning in the adjunct faculty role to serving now as an Associate Professor. After receiving a Doctor in Nursing Practice Degree in 2010, Dr. Crowley began in a leadership role as co-coordinator of the nurse practitioner program, director of the doctor of nursing practice program, associate dean of Graduate nursing and currently she serves as the associate dean of graduate online nursing programs. Dr. Crowley has completed a Fellowship in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Leadership of Academic Nursing Program.

During Dr. Crowley’s has been instrumental in developing programs and increasing the rigor of current programs consistent with the strategic planning, including the development of the woman’s health nurse practitioner track the BSN-DNP program and the online masters and doctoral programs. Her areas of expertise for both teaching and research include woman’s health topics and courses, advanced practice regulatory issues, perinatal mental health, health promotion and disease prevention, program accreditation and quality online course development using universal design. Dr. Crowley also serves on the Special Commission for an Act Relative to Post-Partum Depression, appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts and holds the graduate education seat on the Massachusetts Board of Nursing. She engages in other professional activities through grant writing, authorship of chapters, speaking engagements and poster presentations.