USD Magazine, Spring 2002

By Timothy McKernan

'87, D.N.Sc. '98), chair of the nursing department at National University. "The people responsible for the big grants just automatically tended to think of East Coast schools. Janet was the driving force that helped change that, to get people to look beyond the huge programs (to USO)." When the former East Coaster thinks about how she shook up the established pecking order, she delivers her trademark laugh, a striking, throw-your-head-back number with a charm all its own. Much like Rodgers. Her personality- the positive perspective, the infectious energy - is the engine that helped drive the school from its adolescence to its current status among the nation's best programs.

program from scratch, landing a grant to construct the building and almost single– handedly creating programs for the students. Rodgers' relaxed approach was somewhat in contrast to Palmer's no-nonsense leadership style, but Author E. Hughes, the university's president at the time, says the different man– agement methods complemented each other. "Irene was a firm believer in the hierarchy of authority, and given what the nursing pro– fession was like at the time, that was proba– bly what the faculty expected," Hughes says. "Janet is much more relaxed, and she works very hard to build a consensus and involve people in decisions, a style very well suited to the '80s and '90s."

"Plus," she adds a little sheepishly, "it took me about 15 seconds to fall in love with the city and the campus." Rodgers retires from USO this spring after 15 years of preparing registered nurses for leadership roles in the health care field. Under her guidance, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science has produced countless graduates who now are hospital and clinic administrators, educators, researchers, nurse practitioners - those on the front lines, and the cutting edge, of health care. Among her alumni are Daniel Gross, CEO of Sharp Memorial Hospital, Rear Admiral Kathleen Martin, director of the Navy Nurses Corps, and Jaynelle Stichler, whose firm designs health care facil– ities throughout the world. USO prepares these leaders by operating differently than traditional nursing schools, which train graduates for the clinical side of the profession. Rodgers created programs in which students researched the health needs of the community and its underserved popu– lations - the homeless and migrant work– ers, for example - and developed ways to serve them. Rodgers also established the university's first Ph.D. program, enabling nurses to win research grants and break new ground in the ever competitive health care industry. Word about her innovative approach got around, especially when Rodgers began landing grants that customarily went to the bigger schools back East. "The West Coast has few really strong nursing schools," says Nancy Saks, (M.S.

Her personality is the engine that helped drive the school from its adolescence to its current status among the nation's best programs.

"She has a warm, friendly way about her that really helps when you address big prob– lems," says Frank Panarisi, a long-time friend and colleague. "Her manner created an envi– ronment to settle some pretty contentious issues. She leads with a velvet glove, and she always has that laugh. It's hard not to get along with her." Rodgers needed every ounce of her can-do attitude when she arrived at USO and a nursing school that was barely a decade old. The previous dean, Irene Palmer, was a strong-willed woman who literally built the

Rodgers built on the foundation Palmer laid. She created a higher national profile for the school by serving as president of tl1e American Association of Colleges of Nursing, a role that allowed her to partici– pate in some of President Bill Clinton's health care reform measures in the early 90s. She published extensively and was an in– demand speaker across the nation, address– ing a variety of topics with one basic under– lying tl1eme: advocating an increased role for nurses in the health care system. continued on page 33

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SPRING 2002