A prestigious and selective executive leadership program for nurse educators has chosen SUNY Poly’s Interim Dean of Health Sciences, Dr. Kathleen Rourke to take part.

The Wharton AACN Executive Leadership Program, held at the Steinberg Conference Center in August, helps its participants sharpen their abilities to manage and lead change, strategically influence and negotiate, and skillfully strategize and innovate to create value with internal and external stakeholders.

Offered by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the four-day program is taught by Wharton faculty, who present relevant and timely content designed to advance chief academic administrators to a higher level of leadership.

The highly-competitive program limits registration to only 40 participants, of which Dr. Rourke was chosen to take part.

Those selected must meet specific eligibility requirements, including progressive experience in academic administrative roles and positions, professional goals congruent with the aims of the fellowship program, be a dean/director or association dean/director from an AACN member school, and currently serve as the chief or associate chief nursing academic officer.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is the national voice for academic nursing education, working to establish quality standards for nursing education; assist schools in implementing those standards; influencing the nursing profession to improve health care; and promoting public support for professional nursing education, research, and practice.

The curriculum for the AACN-Wharton program is designed to provide the concepts and tools needed to enhance leadership capacity and hone the skills that are essential to thrive and move forward strategically. The content addresses issues around managing and leading change, influencing and galvanizing a diverse set of stakeholders, and building enterprising relationships in highly volatile environments. Participants leave the program equipped with an advanced set of negotiation, leadership, and influencing skills, as well as the confidence and ability to serve on or lead high-powered boards.