Dean’s Message

 Welcome to the Mervyn M. Dymally School of Nursing (MMDSON) website. As the Founding Dean of this newest addition to the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) core of academic programs, it is indeed my honor to join an interdisciplinary team of nationally and internationally renowned academicians, dedicated to the mission of educating students to design and implement innovative approaches in meeting the healthcare needs of our most underserved communities.

The faculty and staff at MMDSON are pleased to invite you to enroll in our Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Program. As you embark upon your new career in nursing, you will find that being a student in the MSN program is both challenging and stimulating. The intensive program is designed to prepare graduates to provide excellent care with compassion to the underserved and to be leaders in their respective professions. Currently, we offer two tracks to the completion of the MSN credential: the Entry Level Master’s (ELM) track and the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) track. CDU MSN graduates will be prepared to improve health and quality of life for individuals through excellent healthcare, transforming the health of underserved communities.

As a student enrolled in the MMDSON, you will be engaging in an exciting and very rewarding educational experience, one that will position you to transform the discipline of nursing. MMDSON enrolled its first class of students in August 2010, who will complete course requirements for the Entry Level Master of Science in Nursing program of study. In addition in Spring 2011 we enrolled  our first cohort of FNP students. In state-of-the-art learning laboratories, students practice clinical skills in a simulated operating room, intensive care unit, and a 12-bed medical-surgical unit. In partnership with nursing preceptors, students develop their professional skills in a variety of community-based clinical experiences. With an emphasis on evidence-based practice, students will actively engage in research initiatives in partnership with diverse communities to focus on health promotion and disease prevention strategies. Future program offerings will include the Doctorate of Nursing Practice, the Doctor of Philosophy, and other nursing specialty curricula of study.

The MMDSON is named in honor of Dr Mervyn M. Dymally, a long-time supporter of CDU who served as California’s first and only black Lieutenant Governor. In 1966, he became the first black state senator and later served six terms of office in the U.S. Congress. It is through his vision and dedication that the School of Nursing is now housed within the newly erected Life Sciences Research Nursing Education Building. We are indebted to his steadfast support and look forward to the opportunity to carry on the legacy of service in keeping with the CDU tradition, established by the pioneering work of Dr Charles R. Drew.

If excellence in the art and science of nursing and a commitment to meeting the healthcare needs of the underserved form the foundation of your career aspirations, I invite you to choose CDU.

Gloria J. McNeal, PhD, MSN, ACNS-BC, FAAN
Founding Dean
Mervyn M. Dymally School of Nursing
Pioneering in Health and Education