Purdue Global Nursing Dean Marilyn Wideman Retires

On May 29, Nursing Dean Marilyn Wideman retired from Purdue University Global after accumulating a legacy of notable achievements during her tenure.

Wideman’s accomplishments while leading the online university range from rewriting the Master of Science in Nursing program—which gained the program a 10-year full accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education—to executing a series of plans that have elevated Purdue Global NCLEX scores to a level that is consistently above the national average.

Marilyn Wideman has retired as Dean of the Purdue University Global School of Nursing

Dean Wideman also played a key role in a number of other innovations at the Purdue Global School of Nursing. Her efforts led to the introduction of a number of new programs, including:

A two-step Bachelor of Science in Nursing that permits students to complete their BSN degree in less time as they take bachelor-level courses as part of the associate nursing degree program.
The joint Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Business Administration in collaboration with Jeffrey Buck, dean of the School of Business and IT
An MSN nurse practitioner specialty in adult-gerontology acute care

Purdue Global Chancellor Frank Dooley lauded Wideman’s contributions, saying, “The work she accomplished will continue to benefit our students, which is ever so important during these challenging times, especially for health care professionals. Marilyn has laid the important groundwork for us to forge ahead as educators.”

On June 1, Purdue Global inducted Melissa Burdi, associate dean of undergraduate programs, as the new Dean of the School of Nursing. Burdi paid tribute to her predecessor, noting, “It is an honor and a privilege to carry on the work that Marilyn has started… Marilyn was a transformational leader who had a gift to be able to relate to both our team and students. She pushed us to be the best versions of ourselves.”

With regard to the future, Dean Burdi commented, “We have embraced the opportunity to address a significant amount of positive disruption as a result of recent pandemic events and will continue to respond to this evolving landscape with agility and speed. Creating an exceptional experience and positioning our students for success in meeting their goals remains our top priority.”

For further details on this story, visit the Purdue University newsroom.

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Koren Thomas

Associate Editor at DailyNurse

Koren Thomas (pictured with Assistant) was the associate editor of DailyNurse from late 2019 through July, 2022—and she was not joking about the "issue postage stamps saluting US nurses" idea. Send your article ideas, submissions, Nurse of the Week suggestions, comments, and corrections to the current Editor in Chief at [email protected].