Inspire, Fall 2007

Inspire 5 Faith Community Nursing Certificate Program May 19–23, 2008 Are you a nurse looking to use your education to minister not only to physical needs, but to spiritual needs as well? Faith community nursing is a recognized field that will allow you to put your nursing knowledge and skills to work within your church and play an important role in promoting health and healing in your congregation. Cedarville University’s faith community nursing program will instruct you in the biblical aspects of health, healing, wholeness, and health promotion; legal and ethical guidelines for faith community nursing practices, and more! The program will qualify you to start a health education ministry within your church and provide invaluable health advice and spiritual support to promote not only physical health, but also social, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. For more information, visit www.cedarville.edu/faithcommnursing . Faithful Service Dr. Irene Alyn, founder and first chair of Cedarville University’s nursing department, recently retired after 26 years of service at the University. Dr. Alyn came to Cedarville in 1981 after earning her BA from Taylor University and both her MSN and PhD from the University of Illinois. She was responsible for developing the original plans for the nursing department, working with faculty to establish and upgrade curricula, and providing the leadership for program approval and accreditation. Because of her leadership, Cedarville’s program has become nationally known both for academic excellence and for promoting biblical integration and Christian service with an emphasis on nursing as a ministry. Growing the nursing department from its infancy into the thriving, 300-student major it is today is only part of the legacy Dr. Alyn leaves as she moves on to the next step God has for her life. She has also left a major mark on the hearts and lives of both her colleagues and her students. “Under Dr. Alyn’s leadership, I have been encouraged to put Christ foremost in all of my teaching and practice as a nurse,” remarks new department chair Dr. Janet Conway. “She provided the motivation and resources to advance my education, promote academic scholarship, and serve as a mentor to other faculty.” “Dr. Alyn influenced my nursing education by challenging me and every student she taught, not only in the classroom, but also spiritually,” says Rachel Osterman Borich ’05. “She encouraged us before every clinical and experience outside Cedarville to be a light to the dying world and to share Christ’s love.” Many of Alyn’s former nursing students remember that she would start classes by having everyone sing a song called “Praise the Savior.” Other students recall her zeal for organizing, directing, and joining nursing students on a variety of mission trips throughout the world. “I was always amazed that when Dr. Alyn would teach theory, she would personally know the nurses who had written the books,” recalls Tonya Brockman Bartlett ’97, now a nurse manager at the Ohio State University Medical Center. “It also impressed me that when I would come back to campus for career fairs, several years after I graduated, she would remember me by name.” In 2004, Cedarville honored Dr. Alyn with the Allen Monroe Integration of Faith and Learning Award for sustained excellence in integrating Scripture and the Christian worldview with a discipline or practical application. During her time at Cedarville, Alyn became known locally, regionally, and nationally for holding her faith as foundational to all aspects of living. On July 1, Dr. Janet Conway, senior professor of nursing, began her appointment as new chair of the nursing department. Conway came to Cedarville in 1982 and was instrumental in helping Dr. Alyn found the nursing department. “I look forward to continuing the excellence of the department of nursing,” says Conway. “We have a strong foundation upon which to continue educating nursing students to serve God through the ministry of nursing. I have a highly supportive faculty and am eager to help each faculty member develop and use their talents to educate students and serve our Lord.” She has left a major mark on the hearts and lives of both her colleagues and her students.