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News and Notes
News&Notes
McCorvey leads unified Student Wellness Center
Alisha McCorvey, EdD was recently named the executive director of Student Health and Wellness, as well as Interim Vice President for Students. She was appointed to her current positions in the late summer of 2021.
“I am honored to be given the opportunity to utilize my 25 years of experience in mental health, disability services, administration, and education to lead the student wellness offices and initiatives across campus,” said McCorvey. “I believe in a holistic and prevention-based approach to student wellness, developing the whole person intellectually, artistically, socially, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We ask a lot of our students: to be conscientious and questioning, to be open to new ideas, and to be a willing participant in our community; and to do this, they need to feel their very best mentally, emotionally, and physically”
As executive director of Student Health and Wellness, McCorvey is responsible for a team of nurses, mental health professionals, and disability personnel whose focus is on health, mental health, accommodation services, wellness promotion, and education. She provides leadership and program direction of the center, implements and assesses programs and initiatives focused on student wellness, and provides visionary, strategic, and operational leadership to an umbrella of student wellness areas including the Office of Health Services, Counseling Services, and the Office of Disability Services. This role is key to planning, developing, maintaining, and evaluating the holistic mental health and well-being of our students.
While serving as the interim VP for Students, she also assists in the planning, administration, and leadership of Student Affairs; provides leadership in planning, human resources, and policy development for all reporting departments; and more.
McCorvey has served at the Mount since 2017, first as director of Disability Services and then as executive director of Counseling and Disability Services. In addition, she is an adjunct professor at the college, teaching courses in Education and Social Sciences.
McCorvey earned an EdD in Educational Leadership, Administration, and Policy from Fordham University; an Advanced Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Bank Street College of Education; a Master of Social Work from Marywood University; and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from SUNY New Paltz. She also holds a license in Clinical Social Work, School Building Leader Certification, School District Leadership Certification, and School Social Worker Certification.
Alisha McCorvey, EdD
Pettus named director of Health Services
Deirdre Pettus BSN, RN, CRRN, a 2018 graduate of the Mount, returned to her alma mater as director of Health Services in October of 2021.
Pettus oversees the college’s Health Services office, which aids students in their health management and hosts events that promote wellness and healthy living.
“To work here at Mount Saint Mary College is such a blessing to me,” said Pettus. “I feel so appreciative that I have been given the opportunity to work with the students, faculty, and staff. Everyone has been so warm and welcoming.”
She added, “As a mother of four children…I have seen the struggles and triumphs of these students and I want to be part of their journey. I want to help these students with their health and wellness.”
Pettus comes to the Mount from Garnet Health Medical Center (previously known as Orange Regional Medical Center) in Middletown, N.Y. where she served for more than 20 years as a referral specialist for Inpatient Rehabilitation Services.
She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Mount and an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing from SUNY Orange.
Becoming the director of Health Services “has brought me full circle,” Pettus said.
Pettus takes over for Doreen Bischof, RN, BSN, who helped to guide the Mount through the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. By the time Bischof passed the torch to Pettus, more than 94 percent of Mount students were vaccinated and 100 percent were compliant with the college’s COVID-19 policy.
Business, healthcare management pros share their experiences
The School of Business hosted a pair of powerful panels during the Fall 2021 semester, featuring local business and healthcare leaders.
The first panel, “Hospitality and Event Management in the Age of COVID and Beyond,” featured leaders in the Hudson Valley and beyond. Panelists discussed topics including the impacts of COVID-19 on their industry, efforts to move forward, and exciting opportunities that present themselves for future growth and activity across the Hudson Valley. Michael L. Fox, assistant professor of Business Law and MBA Coordinator at the college, moderated the panel.
The panel members were Rob Affuso, president of Soulsystem Orchestras and former drummer for the band Skid Row; Susan Eisma, director of Human Resources for Legoland N.Y.; J’Rod Lang, owner of Blacc Vanilla Coffee Shop & Roasters; Bob Provost, president and CEO of NYS Tourism Industry Association; R. Scott Russell, assistant professor of Sports Management; Rick Zolzer, vice president of the HV Renegades; and Stephen Vittoria, marketing director of Turk Hospitality Group.
The second panel featured industry professionals discussing important topics from Healthy People 2030, the Health and Human Services’ national 10-year plan for addressing our most critical public health priorities and challenges. It was moderated by Dr. Cathy Rehfus-Wilsek, associate professor of Healthcare Management and MBA practicum coordinator.
Hospital presidents, healthcare executives, academic professionals, and community leaders discussed topics ranging from how to increase the interprofessional education of health professions through curriculum development to what Mount students can do to provide prevention services within the community.
Panel members were Dan Maughan, president and COO of Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital; Christine Berté, School of Nursing dean; Christian Plaza (owner) and Kyle Russo (manager), Cross Valley Health and Medicine; Steven Kelley, president and CEO of Ellenville Regional Hospital; and Col. Alicia A. Madore, deputy commander of Nursing & Health Services, Keller Army Community Hospital.
Left to right: Nursing students Constance Taibi of Astoria, Anna Grasso of New Fairfield, Conn., Alyssa Esteves of Mahopac, and Gema Vidals-Herrera of Newburgh.
Nursing students share health info
Students from the School of Nursing recently provided cancer screening information to the Newburgh community at the Newburgh Armory Unity Center.
The effort was in collaboration with Montefiore St. Luke’s Hospital.
Four undergraduate Nursing students spoke to members of the local community, who were attending the Armory’s Saturday morning programming, about lung, breast, and colon cancer. The students provided evidence-based information on poster boards and Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall provided information for screening services offered through the hospital.
Anne-Marie Uebbing, associate professor of Nursing at the Mount, “has been instrumental in forming this partnership with patient education and patient navigators through the hospital,” noted Linda Kelly, assistant professor of Nursing at the college.
Mount Nursing students consistently score well on the NCLEX-RN test. For example, May 2021 graduates of the college attained a 90 percent pass rate, which was well above the state average for that period.
A new dean for Nursing
Christine Berté was recently named dean of the Mount’s School of Nursing.
As the dean, Berté provides vision and oversight for the School of Nursing, working with faculty to ensure that the curriculum provides students with opportunities to begin or enhance their nursing career.
One of her major goals is to expand the Nursing programs available to Mount students. For example, the Mount recently began offering a new Master of Science in Nursing and Post-Master’s Certificate Nursing track: Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, which focuses on care for clients of all ages and backgrounds.
Berté will continue to maintain the community relationships that were started under the previous dean, Susan LaRocco, as well as forging new ones. It’s also very important, Berté added, to foster professional development of faculty, including scholarly work and research.
“I have been mentored by very good professionals. And now, at this point in my career, I want to give back,” Berté explained. “I want to grow our faculty, I want to see them achieve, and I want them to explore areas of academia that they might not have realized yet.”
Berté, who became a full-time Mount Nursing professor in 2015, previously served as chairperson of the School of Nursing and coordinator of the college’s graduate Nursing program. She holds an EdD in Nursing Education from Western Connecticut State University and is a Family Nurse Practitioner with a post-master’s certificate as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. Her main focus of practice has been incarcerated juveniles in Connecticut. She has been part of a dedicated Christine Berté team that achieved accreditation in the juvenile facilities, thus ensuring a high level of medical and behavioral care to this special population.
Her teaching specialties include maternal-child and psychiatric nursing in both graduate and undergraduate programs, along with courses designed to develop the role and theoretical framework of Advanced Practice nursing.
Recently Berté was awarded the Daisy Award for Outstanding Faculty, given by the Mount’s School of Nursing. She also earned a Certified Nurse Educator credentialing through the National League of Nursing.
Mount recognized for Nursing and social mobility
Mount Saint Mary College is proud to be named a top 100 school in the 2022 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings.
On U.S. News and World Report’s comprehensive lists of top-tier regional universities, the Mount was ranked number 94 in Regional Universities North. These rankings assess academic quality, including first-year student retention and graduation of students; student excellence; graduation rate; and more.
The Mount also clocked in as one of the 2022 Best Colleges in two additional categories. In Social Mobility: Regional Universities North, the Mount was ranked number 66. This measures how well schools graduated students who received federal Pell Grants. Students receiving these grants typically come from economically disadvantaged households.
The Mount was also ranked a top school in the organization’s national ranking of Best Undergraduate Nursing programs.
Additional accolades
The Mount was also ranked seventh on College Factual’s 2022 Best Human Services Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. College Factual looked at 105 colleges and universities in the United States when compiling the ranking. In addition, College Factual ranked the Mount in the top 90 on their 2022 Best Public Administration & Social Service Bachelor’s Degree Schools. For this list, College Factual reviewed 600 schools in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Grad Degree Search named the college number four in the category of Best Value Nursing Graduate Certificate Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region. According to Grad Degree Search, the Mount earned this ranking by offering an affordable, quality education to students interested in Nursing.
