Dr. Susan Leight, professor and director of West Virginia Wesleyan College’s School of Nursing and director of the College’s MSN and DNP programs, has been named one of the American Academy of Nursing’s 231 highly distinguished nurse leaders in its 2019 class of Academy Fellows. Leight, a lifelong Bridgeport resident, was the only West Virginia nursing leader honored by the Academy in the ceremony at the annual policy conference in Washington, D.C. October 24-26.

 

The newest edition of fellows represented 38 states, the District of Columbia, and 17 international countries. The Academy is currently comprised of more than 2,600 nurse leaders in education, management, practice, policy, and research. They have been recognized for their extraordinary commitment to the promotion of the public’s health through evidence and innovation.

 

Leight, who is the founding director of Wesleyan’s MSN and DNP programs, has been a member of the College’s faculty since 2004. She received her B.S.N. from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and M.S.N. and Ed.D. in educational psychology from West Virginia University.  She was a summer institute postdoctoral fellow and a postdoctoral fellow in psychosocial oncology at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

In 2008, Leight attended the Salzburg Global Seminar through the Mellon Foundation Fellowship and is licensed as a registered professional nurse in West Virginia.  She also holds licensure and certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner through the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, a MammaCare Specialist through Mammatech Corporation, and Adult Nurse Practitioner through American Nurses’ Credentialing Center.

 

In 2016, Leight was honored with the Exemplary Teaching Award from Wesleyan and the General Board of Higher Education of The United Methodist Church.  She has served as a presenter at conferences in the United States and internationally, and has been published in a number of nursing journals.