NSU College of Nursing Dean Elected to Nursing Consortium of South Florida Board

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Marcella M. Rutherford, Ph.D., M.B.A., M.S.N., R.N.

FORT LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. – Marcella M. Rutherford, Ph.D., M.B.A., M.S.N., R.N., dean of Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) College of Nursing, is one of three newly elected board members of the Nursing Consortium of South Florida.

Dr. Rutherford will serve a two-year term, along with other newly elected members: Jamie Wiggins, M.S., R.N., CCRN, NEA-BC, FACHE, administrative director inpatient services, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, and Leslee Gross, R.N., MHCA, assistant vice president of operations, Telehealth Center, Baptist Health South Florida.

The Nursing Consortium of South Florida, founded in 1997, is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation whose strength lies in being the nexus for collaboration by the nurse leaders of its member organizations, which include South Florida’s leading hospitals, nursing schools, staffing agencies and other organizations that employ nurses in South Florida.

The Consortium’s mission is to identify and address factors causing a nursing shortage in South Florida. It unites nursing practice and education from across the region to address the area’s need for culturally and technically competent nurses, by cultivating interest in nursing careers, advocating for the interests of the profession, and improving the public’s understanding of nursing concerns and the perception of the nursing profession.

Dr. Rutherford joined NSU in 2007 as a nursing faculty member when the Nursing Program was a part of NSU’s College of Allied Health and Nursing. She later was appointed interim associate dean and associate program chair. In 2012, NSU established a separate College of Nursing and Dr. Rutherford was named the founding dean.

She has more than 40 years of nursing and health care experience in a variety of areas, including as a medical-surgical nurse, a nursing supervisor, an operating room nurse, and an emergency life-flight team supervisor. She spent 10 years in hospital finance and hospital and physician practice administration.

Dr. Rutherford earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing, Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Nursing, and Bachelor of Health Services degrees from Florida Atlantic University.

Her honors include being selected as the 2012 March of Dimes Women of Distinction and being selected for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Executive Nurse Fellowship 2013.

Dr. Rutherford is a member of a variety of professional nursing organizations, including Sigma Theta Tau, National League of Nursing Association of History of Nursing, College of Graduate Education for Administration in Nursing, American Organization of Nurse Executives, Florida Organization of Nurse Executives, Florida Association of the Colleges of Nursing, the American Nursing Association, and the Florida Nurse Association.

For more information on the Nursing Consortium of South Florida, visit nursingconsortium.us.

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About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): Located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional degree levels. A private, not-for-profit institution with more than 26,000 students, NSU has campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa, Florida, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico, while maintaining a presence online globally. For more than 50 years, NSU has been awarding degrees in a wide range of fields, while fostering groundbreaking research and an impactful commitment to community. Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is 1 of only 50 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification, and is also the largest private, not-for-profit institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education’s criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution. Please visit www.nova.edu for more information about NSU and realizingpotential.nova.edu for more information on the largest fundraising campaign in NSU history.

Contact information:

Jeremy Katzman, M.B.A., APR | Office of Public Affairs
954-262-1535 (office)
954-661-7000 (cell)
j.katzman@nova.edu