Longtime ISU College of Nursing faculty Nancy Renn to be honored with “Distinguished Lifetime Career in Nursing” award  

Her career at ISU spans several decades, and as she prepares for retirement this September, her colleagues are quick to share how the impact of her leadership can be seen not just in Pocatello and Meridian, but across the state as well.

The Nurse Leaders of Idaho is the Idaho affiliate organization of the American Organization of Nurse Executives and its members include chief nursing officers from acute care hospitals, deans and directors of schools of nursing and nurses who are in other organizational leadership positions in Idaho. 

Each year the organization hosts an annual fall conference and a “Celebrate Nursing Dinner” where recognition awards are given to Idaho nurses who are nominated by their respective institutions. As a highlight of the recognition ceremony, a nurse who has impacted nursing and the health care of Idaho citizens over the course of a career is also recognized.  The honor is not limited to one nurse in any single year, but this year only Nancy Renn will be recognized.

“In addition to her long career at ISU and the impact that she has had on a generation of nurses who have graduated from the ISU School of Nursing [now College of Nursing], her impact as a nurse leader and her last few years as the interim dean have reached beyond ISU,” said Randall Hudspeth, Nurse Leaders of Idaho’s executive director.

He also said that her efforts have impacted relationships between all of the schools in Idaho, and she has facilitated academic progression in nursing by focused work on articulation agreements, creative tuition payment methods, online education, nursing research and cooperative programs between universities.

“More than once she has met the need for school leadership at ISU and served as a dean demonstrating stable, thoughtful and common-sense leadership,” Hudspeth said. “We are pleased to recognize her this year for her distinguished career.”

Renn grew up in Pocatello and graduated from the ISU Department of Nursing in 1980 with her bachelor in nursing degree. She has worked full time as a professional registered nurse since, except for a brief retirement from 2012 to 2015.

Renn says it has been her great pleasure to spend her career working in local health facilities and at ISU. She worked as a staff nurse at the Bannock Memorial Hospital and later served on the Board of Directors for Bannock and Portneuf Medical Center. She worked at the South Idaho Public Health Department as a home health nurse and as a public health administrator.

 “My last and some of my best work was done at ISU where I have worked diligently to assure quality nursing education is provided to all nursing students,” Renn said. “I truly believe all of the work I have done over my career has not been work completed by one person, but work completed by many great colleagues who have worked side-by-side with me along the way. I would like to say thank you to the many good people who helped me accomplish the work that needed to be done.”

“Dr. Renn has served as an advocate and leader for nursing and nursing education throughout her career,” said Karen Neill, who is this year’s board president for NLI and an ISU nursing professor. “Dr. Renn has been instrumental in advancing nursing education in Idaho, and in the teaching of competent and caring nurses for practice, scholarship and service.”

Rex Force, vice president for Health Sciences at ISU, said Renn has had an incredible career.

“She’s maintained such an enthusiasm for the profession of nursing, led the growth of the College of Nursing, and always stepped in to help whenever necessary,” Force said. “She’s ISU through and through, and we’ll miss her contributions.”

The College of Nursing will also host a celebration reception at 5 p.m. on Sept. 24, in the Helen Beckley Nursing Building Lobby, to commemorate Renn’s distinguished career and retirement. This event will also showcase the College of Nursing’s recent reorganization into one of four colleges within the Kasiska Division of Health Sciences at ISU and welcome their new Dean, Anita Smith, who joined ISU in early August. Anyone wishing to congratulate Renn on her retirement or her award is invited to leave their comments at kudoboard.com/boards/tFQnqojH.