Perspectives Winter/Spring-2017

36 • NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY After 12 years of innova- tive leadership, Patricia E. Kelly, Ed.D., PA-C, retired from her role as director of the Doctor of Health Science Program. She began her CHCS aca- demic career in 2003 as an adjunct professor in the program, then served as chair of the Department of Health Science from 2005 to 2007, where she assisted in launching the anesthesiologist assistant and vascular sonography programs. In Kelly’s first year as program director, the Doctor of Health Science student body included 40 students and 4 alumni. Stanley H. Wilson, Ed.D., PT, CEAS, who serves as CHCS dean, noted that Kelly “created a culture of academic excellence that resulted in many of her graduates achieving major career accomplishments.” Kelly also received praise from William Kohlhepp, D.H.Sc., PA-C, dean of the Quinnipiac Univer- sity School of Health Sciences in North Haven, Connecticut, who described Kelly “as the impetus for me to start my doctorate in the NSU Doctor of Health Science Program.” Under Kelly’s leadership, 250 students are enrolled in the Doctor of Health Science Program, while program graduates are serving in leadership positions in clinical practice, academia, hospital administration, and public health. “Dr. Kelly developed the Doctor of Health Science degree from a small NSU program to a degree that is now one of the most respected doctoral degrees in the country,” said 2016 alumnus Jim Burkett, EMT-P, PA-C. For the students participating in the online Doctor of Health Science academic environment, Kelly built a strong community of learners who prospered beyond graduation. Sandrine Gaillard- Kenney, Ed.D., assistant dean of CHCS under- graduate studies, shared that Kelly’s accomplish- ments could not be captured only by numbers of students or growth of the program’s reputation. “Pat realized what few online administrators achieve,” Gaillard-Kenney said. “She became a mentor to her students, which can be the most meaningful impact a faculty member and director can have on students.” Kelly, who is enjoying her retirement, lives with her 12-year-old Welsh terrier on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on a 12-acre spread of land in the middle of a densely wooded parcel. n Celebrating the Accomplishments of an Innovative Health Educator BY BRIANNA BLACK KENT, PH.D., DEPARTMENT CHAIR OF HEALTH SCIENCE AND DIRECTOR OF THE PH.D. IN HEALTH SCIENCE, AND MAUREEN O’HARA, D.H.SC ., PA-C, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, DOCTOR AND MASTER OF HEALTH SCIENCE PROGRAMS Health Science ONLINE AND ON-SITE PROGRAMS From left: Sandrine Gaillard- Kenney, Patricia E. Kelly, and Stanley H. Wilson at Kelly’s retirement party, which was hosted by the Department of Health Science