Dr. Marcia Straughn has been named as dean of ACU’s School of Nursing. Straughn previously served as department chair. She has been involved with all program levels within the School of Nursing, ranging from classroom and clinical courses in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program to work on the Doctor of Nursing Practice project committees in the doctoral program.
Straughn has been a member of the ACU nursing faculty since 2012, when she helped launch the ACU School of Nursing. The inaugural BSN class graduated in 2013. She holds a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Nursing Science from the College of Nursing at Texas Woman’s University. She also holds National League for Nursing’s \ certification as a nurse educator (CNE). Straughn is an alumnus of ACU, having earned a Bachelor of Music in 1994 and worked in that profession prior to returning to school to obtain her nursing degrees.
Straughn is a 2018 Leadership for Academic Nursing Programs Fellow and is active in the professional nursing and academic communities. She is a member of the Texas Organization of Deans and Directors of Professional
Nursing Programs, the Texas Organization of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Education, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, the Texas Nurses Association, the National League for Nursing, and the American Nurses Association. Straughn has also served on numerous department and university-level committees, such as ACU’s Faculty Senate, Institutional Review Board, and the Faculty Development Committee.
Straughn designed many of the courses in ACU’s BSN program, has championed student support and retention programs, and has chaired the admission, progression and graduation committees.
In addition to her early work with the design and launch of ACU’s BSN program, she created and led ACU’s inaugural nursing Study Abroad program in Summer 2019 and recently launched the School of Nursing’s NextGen NCLEX Task Force.
“I am so thankful for the wonderful students who come through the nursing program at ACU,” Straughn said. “It is truly an honor to serve each student. I am also humbled to be able to lead the excellent faculty in the School of Nursing. With high-quality students, excellent faculty, and a university with an eye towards innovation and excellence, the future is very bright for all of the programs in the School of Nursing.”