After nearly 50 years of combined service, three UCF College of Nursing faculty members are retiring. Dr. Diane Wink, Dr. Betty Mayer, and Hannah Morse, each made valuable contributions to the advancement of the college as well as to the nursing careers of countless students during their tenure.
“It has been a privilege to work alongside these educators,” said Dr. Mary Lou Sole, dean at the UCF College of Nursing. “Through their areas of interest and expertise, each has made a positive impact on the education of Knight nurses and their local communities. We greatly appreciate their service.”
Wink, the Hugh F. and Jeannette G. McKean Endowed Chair in Nursing, is retiring this month after 28 years of service. On the Orlando campus, Wink has served in a variety of roles in both undergraduate and graduate programs. Most recently Wink was a professor and coordinator of the Nurse Educator program, which is offered as both a master’s degree and graduate certificate. Wink was pivotal in establishing the college’s community-based nursing education curriculum. She also helped develop the initial Nurse Educator Graduate Certificate, and coordinated the Family and Adult Nurse Practitioner tracks. A researcher, scholar and published author, Wink is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and a recipient of the academy’s Outstanding Abstract Award. UCF has honored her with several teaching excellence, scholarship of teaching and learning and service awards, and most recently bestowed upon her the prestigious honor of “Professor Emerita.”
Mayer, a nursing professor on UCF’s Daytona Beach campus, is also retiring this month after 13 years of service. Mayer first became affiliated with the college in 1993 as a student in the RN to BSN program, and later in the master’s Family Nurse Practitioner program. Mayer was the college’s first MSN graduate to complete a PhD and be hired as a UCF faculty member. Some of her contributions include creating and instructing the college’s domestic violence courses, becoming a major contributor to online course development, establishing the first advanced practice nursing group in Volusia County, and initiating the first Student Nurses Association chapter on the Daytona campus.
After eight years of service, Morse began her retirement in January. She was an instructor on psychiatric-mental health curriculum on the Orlando campus, and provided innovative ways to facilitate teaching and learning. Prior to her retirement, she was named the 2014 March of Dimes Nurse of the Year for the category of Academic Nurse Educator.