Inspire, Fall 2007

6 Fall 2007 Feature : Three Decades Three Decades of Expansion in the Sciences by Sharyn Kopf The ’80s: Compassion in Nursing Pac-Man. Leg warmers. Madonna. The eighties were filled with crazes — some good; some bad; some we wish we could forget. But at Cedarville University, the eighties gave birth to a program that not only continues to grow, but that is, for many, the best example of what Christian ministry in the workplace should be. At the beginning of the decade, the increasing demand for a nursing program at Cedarville could no longer be ignored. Dr. Irene Alyn was subsequently recruited from the University of Illinois to begin implementing the program and became instrumental in getting reviews from the board of nursing and filing other official documents. She served as department chair for 25 years, just retiring this year. But there is so much more to getting a nursing degree at Cedarville than curriculum and courses. Dr. Janet Conway, chair of the department of nursing and senior professor, cooperated with Dr. Alyn in developing the program. From the very beginning, the two women knew that the purpose of the department had to center on ministry. In fact, the vision statement they developed says as much: We are called to educate nursing students who fulfill God’s purpose for their lives in local communities and throughout the world. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are leaders in promoting the health of people in a variety of settings. We are devoted to God’s service through the ministry of nursing. “That’s our vision,” Dr. Conway says. “It’s who we are, why we exist, and where we’re going.” When you talk to people connected to the nursing degree, one word keeps coming up: compassion. That’s something that 1992 CU graduate and faculty member Dr. Sharon Christman feels very passionate about. “I think nursing is the profession that most closely imitates Christ’s ministry on earth,” she says. “He did not immediately walk