Dean Witt Retires

Dr. Witt, the dean of nursing at both Auburn University and Auburn University Montgomery is retiring from her double deanship on December 19th. She has served as dean at AUM since 1998 and at AU since 1999. Dr. Witt decided to retire because she still has many things in her life she still wants to do and would like to enjoy them while she can. She states "It's good to leave when you feel people still want you to stay". She will be leaving a lasting impression upon both Auburn campuses. One of her greatest accomplishments during her time as dean was increasing the amount of scholarship funding for the students. When Dr. Witt arrived, Auburn had only three established scholarships, but now they have twelve or thirteen. One of the scholarships is called the Blue Jean Ball Scholarship, which is the largest and most successful fundraiser AU has ever sponsored. Just nine balls over the years have raised $250,000. "Schools are about students", Dr. Witt states.

Dr. Witt has also succeeded in increasing endowments for professors. In addition to those accomplishments, Dr. Witt established state-of-the-art simulation labs on both campuses, all funded through donations. The labs feature mannequins that are so advanced that they are called "human simulators." The reason for this name, is because they simulate all the human functions so that the students can learn to look at vital signs and oxygenation levels before they are brought into clinical settings. The schools can now guarantee that every student will know how to respond to a cardiac arrest all because of their chance of being able to view it with the mannequins. Dr. Witt has also updated the curriculum within the university and has a second brand-new curriculum going online next fall. There is also a joint masters program between the two campuses that was established during her tenure.

Dr. Witt is leaving the school in very good shape. She has increased the number of faculty and created a clinical track that did not exist before her arrival. For the past year Auburn University School of Nursing students were 100% on passing the national exam for the licensing of registered nurses.


Auburn University School of Nursing faculty, staff and students, will surely miss Dr. Witt and thank her for all that she has done.

Faculty Highlights

Constance Smith Hendricks, PhD, RN

Constance Hendricks is an expert in adolescent health and community-based nursing interventions designed for vulnerable populations to reduce disparities among rural and minority populations. She is gifted with the ability to ignite the can-do attitude in students and new faculty members that she mentors. Many times when someone mentions an idea her words are "do it." She has taken on difficult topics such as adolescent suicide and made high-level contributions to chronic illness research. She has been recognized by the United Nations for her services with Zeta Helping Other People Excel, also known as the Z-HOPE program. Dr. Hendricks wrote a two-volume training manual that has been used by more than two million people in the U.S. and also guided the construction of fifty-three water wells in Ghana, West Africa. Her ability put into funding sources, varying from the NIH and the Rural Alabama Black Church Project, expresses the quality of her work and her passion to help the underserved and vulnerable. Receiving more than $4,100,000.00 for diversity projects and research, she has shown the outstanding goal that any project can reach. From some of her studies, she has developed the Adolescent Health Promotion, Lifestyle Profile, Adolescent Hope Scale, the Refusal and Resistant Skills Questionnaire, and The Hendricks Perceptual Determinants Model, all used by researchers in the nursing and social science fields. As a graduate chair of nursing at Southern University-Baton Rouge, she was granted the nation's second PhD in the nursing program at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She is the first African American to be elected vice president of the Alabama State Nurses Association and has been inducted into the American Academy of Nursing. Auburn University School of Nursing is honored to have Dr. Hendricks on the faculty, not only as an outstanding professor, but also as a positive role model, mentor and leader which any nurse or future nurse can follow.

This is the beginning of what I hope will be a fun and useful blog. Our goal will be to disseminate information about the Auburn University Student Nurse Association and the Auburn University School of Nursing.

First, a little about the Student Nurse Association. The Auburn University Student Nurse Association (AUSNA)is a local chapter of a national oorganization, the Nationnal Student Nurses' Association (NSNA). The NSNA’s mission is to mentor students preparing for their initial licensure as registered nurses. Also to convey the standards, ethics, and skills that students will need as responsible and accountable leaders and members of the registered nurse profession. The NSNA was founded in 1952, as a nonprofit organization for students enrolled in associate, baccalaureate, diploma, and generic graduate nursing programs. It remains dedicated to fostering the professional development of nursing students. The organization has over 50,000 members in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. All members of the AUSNA are members of the national organization.

Many exciting things are happening at the local level. Project Underpants started November 1st and will continue until December 1st. What a great cause! To be able to gather underpants for all the boys and girls at the different Headstart Schools in the Auburn/Opelika area is truly a blessing. If you would like to take part in this project you can bring boys or girls underpants (size 2-6) to the Miller Hall. We also will take cash donations and purchase the underpants for you.

Also, this is the first time that pre-nursing students have been allowed in our local association. We are excited about the opportunity to work with this energetic group. Many new ideas are coming from new and old members. Hopefully this new energy and enthusiasm can be channeled into other worthwhile projects like Project Underpants.