Widener University Honors Swedesboro Resident for Innovation in Teaching

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CHESTER, PA (05/03/2013)(readMedia)--  Chester, Pa.-Widener University on Thursday honored Dr. Shirlee Drayton-Brooks of Swedesboro, N.J. for innovation in teaching at the university's annual Faculty Awards Banquet.

Drayton-Brooks received the Fitz Dixon Innovation in Teaching Award, which recognizes a faculty member who has designed and implemented an innovation or experimental teaching or learning project. Dr. Beth Barol, associate professor in the School of Human Service Professions; Dr. J. Wesley Leckrone, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences; and Dr. Michael Rosko, professor in the School of Business Administration, were honored as nominees.

Drayton-Brooks provided leadership in the design, implementation and evaluation for the doctor of nursing practice curriculum at Widener. A evidence-based curriculum, students complete portfolios, competency-based clinical performance assessment, and a culminating capstone practice improvement project to substantiate student learning and to demonstrate that expected program outcomes are achieved.

She serves as the academic program director for the doctor of nursing practice and the family nurse practitioner master's program. Drayton-Brooks has taught across the baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral programs for more than 15 years.

Drayton-Brooks earned her doctorate in education and bachelor's in nursing from Temple University and her master's in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania. She also earned a post-master's certificate from Widener's family nurse practitioner program, and completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at University of Pennsylvania.

In 2007, she was appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to serve on the National Advisory Council on Nursing Education and Practice where she advised on health care policy, provider education, workforce diversity, and nursing practice to governmental, nursing, and inter-professional audiences. She was inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners in 2010 in recognition of her faculty leadership and academic accomplishments.

Applications of all three awards were reviewed by external academic leaders including Dr. Richard Guarasci, president of Wagner College; Dr. Deneese L. Jones, provost at Drake University; and Dr. B. J. Reed, senior vice-chancellor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Widener University is a private, metropolitan university that connects curricula to social issues through civic engagement. Dynamic teaching, active scholarship, personal attention, leadership development and experiential learning are key components of the Widener experience. A comprehensive doctorate-granting university, Widener comprises eight schools and colleges that offer liberal arts and sciences, professional and pre-professional curricula leading to associate's, baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degrees. The university's campuses in Chester, Exton, and Harrisburg, Pa., and Wilmington, Del., serve some 6,500 students. Visit the university website, www.widener.edu.

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Photo:  Widener University President James T. Harris III (left) and Provost Stephen C. Wihite (right) congratulate Dr. Drayton-Brooks on receiving the Fitz Dixon Innovation in Teaching Award.