Dean, College of Nursing
Nova Southeastern University
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Marcella M. Rutherford, PhD, MBA, MSN is currently the Dean of the College of Nursing at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) and was directly responsible for overseeing the development of the Nursing program, transitioning to the College of Nursing as of January 2012. NSU’s College of Nursing offers education at all levels, from entry into practice for associate degree and diploma bachelors to masters, and doctoral educational preparation. The college has campuses located in Ft. Lauderdale, Kendall, Ft. Myers, Orlando and Palm Beach Gardens. Dr. Rutherford received her PhD from FAU in 2007. Her extensive nursing and finance background has informed her interest in research, including her knowledge of health care reimbursement and its impact on nursing and the health care industry. Dr. Rutherford&'s publication topics have focused on health care economics, finance and policy with text book chapters on health care policy, the business of health care for nurse practitioners and entry-level nurses, and a historical research exemplar chapter for qualitative research text. Her areas of teaching include leadership, policy, finance and economics, with a goal of assuring that education in economics begins for nurses at the bachelor level. Dr. Rutherford’s recent manuscripts published in scholarly nursing journals focus on the use of valuation of nursing as a tool to communicate the economic impact of the nursing service; documenting the value of nursing. Currently, she is working on research related to the use of online learning in PhD programs, exploring the experiences outcomes from distance learning teaching strategies. Additionally, she is currently the academic oversight for nurses in a South Florida hospital conducting a study on the use of progressive mobility in the care of patients in a critical care unit and the economic impact of this procedural change. She is the nursing director of state of Florida Funding for the Rural and Underserved Program, offering nursing students at all levels experiences in educating patients on health promotion and disease prevention. Professional nursing organization memberships include 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. Dean Rutherford's honors include being selected as 2012 March of Dimes Women of Distinction and a member on the planning committee for March of Dimes yearly March for Babies; event in south Florida; co-chair of 2013 Woman of Distinction. In 2013 Dr. Rutherford was elected as secretary of the Florida Association of Colleges of Nursing.