LEONA VANDEVUSSE WINS
WWHEL OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Dr. Leona VandeVusse, director of the nurse-midwifery program at Marquette University, has won the 2010 Outstanding Achievement Award presented by Wisconsin Women in Higher Education Leadership (WWHEL). 

Dr. VandeVusse’s nominators praised her pioneering leadership in nursing education, practice, and service, noting that her work has directly improved the climate of nursing practice in the State of Wisconsin and has impacted the health of countless women and children throughout the world.  She has served as a mentor to students and faculty colleagues alike, and her graduates have started new practices in rural and urban underserved areas, thus improving access to healthcare for women and families.  She is a founder and leader of Project BEYOND, an initiative to increase recruitment and retention of nursing students from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds, and her online curriculum in nurse-midwifery education has brought education in the practice to students far and wide.

“Dr. VandeVusse exemplifies the spirit of excellence that WWHEL strives to foster throughout higher education in Wisconsin,” said Mary Oling-Sisay, vice president of student affairs and dean of students at St. Norbert College and the current WWHEL state president. 

Wisconsin Women in Higher Education Leadership is a statewide organization devoted to increasing the number and effectiveness of women in colleges and universities in Wisconsin.  Each year it sponsors a fall state conference as well as spring workshops held at five locations around the state.  The announcement of the 2010 Outstanding Achievement Award came at the annual WWHEL state conference held November 4-5 at the UW-River Falls.   For more information, visit www.wwhel.org.

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Contact:  Mary Oling-Sisay

WWHEL President

Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students

St. Norbert College

920-403-3055

mary.oling-sisay@snc.edu