News Release

May 5, 2006
Contact: Kaylyn Kendall Dines
Phone: (973) 972-3000
dineskd@umdnj.edu

Statewide Nursing Association Presents Highest Honor to
UMDNJ Administrator

NEWARK—The New Jersey State Nurses Association recently presented its most prestigious award to a nurse educator and administrator from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey during an annual convention in Atlantic City.

Dr. Gloria J. McNeal, associate professor and assistant dean at UMDNJ-School of Nursing, received the 2006 C.A.R.E. Award for Excellence in Education from the New Jersey State Nurses Association. The C.A.R.E. Award is the highest honor bestowed by this organization that represents thousands of nurses statewide.

The C.A.R.E. Award for Excellence in Education Award recognizes a nurse from an academic or non-academic setting who has demonstrated excellence in developing and implementing programs that enhance nursing education and that address emerging healthcare needs. C.A.R.E. awards are given each year in only four categories: Clinical Practice, Administration, Research and Education.

"Dr. McNeal has a true gift as a teacher, clinician, researcher and administrator," Dr. Sara Torres, dean of the UMDNJ-School of Nursing. "As a result of her efforts, UMDNJ’s School of Nursing has secured $1 million in federal grants to establish a Center for Academic Support Services and traineeships for graduate nursing students. She consistently seeks ways to promote student learning and improve healthcare in the community."

McNeal received a bachelor of science in nursing from Villanova University College of Nursing, a master of science in Nursing Education Critical Care from University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, and a doctor of philosophy degree from University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship on urban African American aging research at Wayne State University in Detroit.

In 2003, McNeal became an administrator and faculty member at the UMDNJ-School of Nursing. In addition to serving as assistant dean and assistant professor, she coordinates the Acute/Critical Care track in the Master of Science in Nursing degree program.

Her published research has focused on enhancing cultural competencies of advanced practice nurses, telehealth management of critical and acute clinical symptoms, and palliative care for the critically ill.

Over the course of her career, she has secured more than $2 million in grants for nursing education programs and authored more than 85 articles, books, book chapters and abstracts, including two major texts on acute nursing care. She is a 2005 inductee into The Stuart D. Cook, M.D., Master Educators Guild at UMDNJ and is the recipient of more than 20 teaching excellence awards from professional nursing associations and educational institutions

She is a board member of several professional organizations including the Association of Black Nursing Faculty in Higher Education. McNeal currently serves on the editorial boards of two national nursing publications and is the editor of Visions Online, The E-Journal of Pennsylvania League for Nursing.