In Memoriam: Judith Sheehan

Dear UNE Community,

It is with tremendous sadness that I share the news that our colleague and friend, Judith M. Sheehan, passed away on June 22.

Judy was a long-standing respected member of the University of New England family. Judy received her Bachelor's in Nursing from Nazareth College in Rochester, NY, her Master's in Nursing Education and Administration from Teacher's College at Columbia University, and her Law Degree from the University of Bridgeport School of Law/Quinnipiac University School of Law in Connecticut.  Prior to her work as a nurse educator at UNE, Judy served as a Director of Nursing in several Acute Care Hospitals and Rehabilitation Centers throughout New York and in Connecticut.

Her first position in the Department of Nursing was in the spring of 2003 as a Clinical Adjunct Instructor in the Associate Degree Program. She was hired as an Assistant Clinical Professor in the fall of 2003, and taught for six years in the Adult Health Medical-Surgical components of the nursing curriculum. Judy was promoted to Associate Clinical Professor in 2009, and continued to teach a variety of courses over the next three years, including several of the courses in the WCHP interprofessional common curriculum, along with a very popular course on the Portland Campus called Health Care & the Law.

Judy's service to the department, college and university was exemplary; she served in many capacities representing faculty in the Westbrook College of Health Professions in the University Faculty Assembly, chaired the Committee for Academic Excellence within the college and was a staunch supporter of the Interprofessional Education Collaborative and the yearly Spring Symposium.

She received the Outstanding Faculty Member Award from the Student Government Association in 2004, Distinguished Teaching Award in 2010, and the Excellence in Academic Advising Award in 2011-2012. These awards represent the joy, passion and dedication Judy gave and received every day through her work with students over the years. She was especially dedicated to a tutoring effort she designed that enabled students to be successful in the nursing program, pass the licensing exam and start their careers as nurses. Her work now lives on through all the faculty and students she touched over the years as a nurse, lawyer, friend, and educator.  Judy - you will be missed.

Judy is survived by her husband Ray.  I will pass along funeral arrangements as they become available.

David Ward
Dean, Westbrook College of Health Professions

 

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.