1994 Hall of Fame inductee - Kathleen F. Dwyer

Kathleen F. Dwyer devoted 24 years to CCRI’s Nursing, Allied and Dental Health Department before retiring in 1994. Her career as a nurse spanned 46 years. In addition to her years at CCRI, she was an instructor at Rhode Island Hospital for four years and at Cornell University School of Nursing for 12 years.

At the end of her career, Dwyer was actively involved in assisting Southeast Asian immigrants in entering the nursing field or other Allied and Rehabilitative Health careers.

Under Dwyer’s guidance, all of CCRI’s Allied and Rehabilitative Health Programs received accreditation for the maximum period allowed, and each program’s revised curriculum reflected current practice. She developed proposals for the Dental Hygiene Program and patient clinic, for the Newport Hospital satellite as well as the Physical Therapist Assistant and Phlebotomy programs.

Dwyer chaired the committee that revised two nursing programs (RN and LPN) into one articulated curriculum and guided the planning of the evening/weekend Nursing Program at the Flanagan Campus in Lincoln. Prior to her retirement, she was assisting with the plans for the Nursing Program at the Liston Campus in Providence.

Dwyer graduated from Rhode Island Hospital School of Nursing, the University of Rhode Island and Columbia University and has received academic honors from Phi Kappa Pi, Pi Lambda Theta and Sigma Theta Tau.