Online Nursing Degree Faculty

The nursing department at Benedictine University is comprised of credentialed faculty leaders from around the nation. For more information regarding our instructors, please contact the admissions department.

Elizabeth Ritt
Chair and Professor, Department of Nursing and Health
Phone:  630-829-1933
Kindlon, 248
Email:  eritt@ben.edu

  Elizabeth Ritt joined Benedictine University in August 2011 as chair and professor of Nursing and Health.  Prior to joining Benedictine she held the position as provost and vice president of academic affairs at Mercy College of Health Sciences in Des Moines, Iowa.  She has a long history with North Park University as a tenured professor and dean.  Dr. Ritt is frequently sought out by national and international organizations for her expertise on adult learning, assessment, and accreditation.  She has published many papers on the fields of education and health care, including Redefining Tradition: Adult Learners in Higher Education, which she authored for the journal Adult Learning.  She holds an Ed.D, specializing in Leadership and Educational Policy Studies, from Northern Illinois University (1989).  She received her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), specializing in Adult Health Nursing/Education, from Loyola University of Chicago (1982), and a Bachelor of Science with a Major in Nursing (BS), from North Park University.

Emily F. Keyes, Ph.D

Dr. Keyes has been in the nursing profession at various levels for over twenty-seven years, and she holds several degrees and certifications that impact the manner of her presentation in her teaching and life. She began her college and nursing education with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and later on, she added a Master of Science in Nursing. She first practiced as an RN in the Operating Room, specializing in Cardiac, Trauma, and Plastic Surgery. After a few years there, she chose to explore her more creative side by earning a Master's Degree in Communication and the Arts. The creativity and joy that she experienced in that endeavor allowed her to rejuvenate and to add invaluable knowledge and skills to her overall being.

During the time between her undergraduate and graduate degrees, Dr. Keyes practiced nursing and in addition, she started a private practice and a healthcare consulting firm that prospered and grew for over twelve years. During that time, she realized how much she enjoys teaching, mentoring, and writing. Also during that period, her interest in Clinical Ethics, as well as in Psychiatric Mental Health Advanced Practice became apparent. In order to gain more formal and in-depth knowledge, Dr. Keyes studied advanced research methods, psychiatric nursing, and advanced doctoral courses in religious studies, philosophy, healthcare systems, nursing, and human behavior regarding vulnerability and resilience factors for individuals and groups.  After completing a seminal research project and doctoral dissertation on survival and adaptation of refugees post-war, she was awarded her Ph.D. along with another Master’s Degree, this one in Clinical Ethics, from the University of Virginia. Believing that adding a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner’s education and credential could only help in her work with refugees, she completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Virginia while teaching and mentoring students at the university level. 

More recently, Dr. Keyes has continued to work as a Professor in both traditional and virtual classrooms, usually concentrating her focus on teaching healthcare ethics and professional role development for nursing. Her current research interests include ethical approaches and treatment for online students and professors, interpersonal and group leadership, trust and justice issues among all human beings, and strategies for positive change in nursing and healthcare. Dr. Keyes also fulfills roles as a Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist, a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, and a Clinical Ethicist in addition to publishing, writing, and speaking in various public forums.

Dr. Daniel Berman, PhD

Dr. Daniel Berman is an accomplished nurse executive and nurse educator with over thirty years combined in the field. Dr. Berman is educated with a Doctorate in Psychology with a concentration in Health Psychology and Organizational Behavior from Newport University. In addition Dr. Berman has a Master of Science in Nursing with an emphasis in Leadership and Management from St. Joseph’s College of Maine.  Dr. Berman is nationally certified in Health Care Quality. His research interests include Health care Disparities, Health care Policy, a Decision Making in Health Care Administration, and health facilities based organizational leadership issues.
    
Professionally Dr. Berman has held staff nursing positions in Pediatrics, Community Health, Emergency Nursing, Psychiatry, and substance abuse services.  Dr. Berman has held administrative and executive positions in hospital nursing, case management, crisis management, correctional nursing, community health, and healthcare consulting. Dr. Berman is published and has given presentations at numerous conferences. Dr. Berman has also been an expert witness in malpractice cases, workers compensation, and criminal law.

Dr. Deborah E. Jones, PhD, RN

Deborah E. Jones, PhD, RN is an Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing,  Department of Acute and Chronic Care.  Her BS, BSN, MSN and Ph.D. are from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The majority of Dr. Jones’s nursing career has been spent in cardiovascular nursing including patient care, nurse manager, nursing research, and community outreach.  Her dissertation research focused on Educated African American women’s perceptions and knowledge of heart disease and its risk factors.  In 2007 Dr. Jones was awarded a Post-Doctoral Supplement from the National Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood. She is engaged in health disparities research and is conducting research in the area of reducing cardiovascular health disparities through the “Partnership Program to Reduce Cardiovascular Disparities”, a UO1 grant at the University of Maryland, Department of Medicine/Hypertension.  She has published articles in the Journal of National Black Nurses Association, Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, Journal of Occupational Health Nurses,  Circulation, and Nursing Outlook just to name a few. She has had experience teaching baccalaureate, masters and doctoral nursing students (DNP and PhD). Student-centered learning principles are at the core of her teaching.  She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau and the Southern Nursing Research Society.   

Sharon Douglass Ware, RN, BSN, MA,  Ed.D

Sharon Douglass Ware is an associate professor of nursing at North Carolina Central University and graduate nursing student in Nursing Education at East Carolina University. She is also a member of the Central Carolina Black Nurses' Council, an affiliate of the National Black Nurse Association. Sharon has over 35 years nursing experience in community health nursing with diverse populations of color. She has been a guest speaker in a variety of community health issues and has worked with residents in the inland topical areas of the Caribbean, California Native Indian Reservations, tribal nations in Oklahoma, Ghana, and villages of Uganda to provide nursing care and education to those in need.

Dr. Carol Patton, Dr.PH

Dr. Patton has over 32 years of experience in health care working in and rural and underserved populations as a primary care provider and as an undergraduate and graduate nurse educator. Dr. Patton holds a master’s degree in primary care nursing from West Virginia University and a Doctoral Degree in Public Health (Dr.PH) from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health with an emphasis in Health Services Administration. Dr. Patton has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles as well as book chapters and refereed journal articles on Chronic Care, Primary Prevention, and outcomes research locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Dr. Patton has conducted health promotion on rural Appalachian women and Nicaraguan women with osteoporosis. Dr. Patton has provided numerous consultations for nursing program feasibility, development, accreditation and revision for from AD and Diploma programs to DNP and PhD Programs. Dr. Patton is a family nurse practitioner and maintains her certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner and a Certified Nurse Educator (CNE).

Dr. Michelle Liken, PhD, MSN

Dr. Michelle (Shelly) Liken hails from Michigan.  She earned her PhD in Nursing from The University of Michigan and her Master’s Degree in Nursing from Michigan State University.  She is an advanced practice Registered Nurse with 22 years of nursing experience and 20 years of teaching experience.  She currently lives in Columbia, South Carolina.  Dr. Liken has been published in several professional peer-reviewed journals.  She owns her own care management, counseling, and consulting practice.  Dr. Liken holds an Educational Doctorate in Instructional Leadership with an emphasis in multi-method technology-based learning. 

Dr. Brian W. Higgerson, PhD

Dr. Brian W. Higgerson is an accomplished nursing educator, researcher, and practitioner. Dr. Higgerson joined the Benedictine as an assistant professor at Benedictine University in January, 2010. He earned his Doctorate of Nursing Science with a focus in family nursing from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. He has a Master Science of Nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner from the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus. His Bachelor Science of Nursing is from Union University Jackson, Tennessee. Dr. Higgerson’s educational background spans over two decades, which ranges in appointments as a clinical associate professor to director of nurse practitioner programs. His broad clinical experience as a Family Nurse Practitioner includes settings in homeless shelters, public health departments, as well as private practice. Presently, he maintains he serves as a Family Nurse Practitioner in a federally-funded women’s health clinic. Dr. Higgerson’s program of research focuses on maternal and infant outcomes among minority or underrepresented populations. He is particularly interested in exploring the appropriateness of evidence based practice standards among ethnically-diverse pregnant women.

Dr. Mark Wyatt, DNP
Dr. Wyatt has worked as a nurse educator and a nurse administrator as well as in psychiatric, hospice, and long-term care. His research interests include nursing administration, nursing informatics, workplace conflict, and service animals relating to health care. He recently completed a pilot study on lateral violence (bullying/horizontal violence) among nursing home nurses. Dr. Wyatt holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice with a focus in Executive Nursing Leadership from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a Master of Science in Nursing from Loyola University, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Southern Illinois University, and is board certified as a Nurse Executive (ANCC).

Bobbie Sue Whitworth, PhD, RNC

Dr. Whitworth has her master's in community nursing and her PhD in organization and management. She has taught nursing in the traditional setting and online for ten years. Her background is in nursing administration. Dr. Whitworth speaks at conferences, conducts workshops and consults with healthcare facilities on emotional intelligence in the workplace. She is certified to administer the Emotional Intelligence Inventory 2.0. Her other areas of interest include gender differences in the workplace and conflict management.   

M. Cecilia Wendler, RN, PhD, CCRN, NE-BC

M. Cecilia Wendler, began her career as an associate-degree RN in critical care.  Completing her BSN and MSN from the College of St. Benedict and the College of St. Scholastica, she completed the PhD from the University of Colorado, where she studied with Jean Watson, PhD, RN, FAAN. With more than 33 years’ of critical care nursing experience, she has combined her love of clinical with teaching and leading, serving now as the Director of Nursing Research and Academic Partnerships for Memorial Medical Center (a Magnet® teaching hospital) in Springfield, IL.  She is active both regionally and nationally in the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and Sigma Theta Tau, International.  She is widely published and has presented nationally and internationally.  She loves teaching students in nursing and is deeply dedicated to student  growth and development.

Cecilia is married with two grown sons, one becoming a professor of English and the other becoming….a nurse!  She is an avid cook and exerciser; loves to travel as well as hang out at home, gardening, writing, and enjoying the company of neighbors, friends and family.

Dr. Vicki J. Coombs, PhD

Vicki J. Coombs received her PhD in Nursing at The Johns Hopkins University in 2005.  She currently serves as Executive Director of the Midatlantic Cardiovascular Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization located in Baltimore, Maryland.  Dr. Coombs’ clinical expertise is in cardiology, clinical trial research and critical care.  Her research interests include quality of life, cardiovascular disease, childhood obesity and instrument development. Dr. Coombs has conducted research and clinical trials in these areas for over 20 years and has numerous publications and presentations.

Dr. Coombs has 4 years of on-line teaching experience in undergrad and graduate courses and has served as clinical preceptor and mentor to many healthcare professionals.