USM’s new dean to the College of Nursing and Health Professions has big dreams of taking the college beyond campus walls, as she envisions a mobile health unit that can bring care on the road for some of Mississippi’s most unreachable communities.
“That would do a lot of community outreach where faculty and students of all disciplines can go out in the community and provide services, particularly in rural and underserved populations which Mississippi has a lot of,” said Dr. Charleen McNeill, dean and professor of the College of Nursing and Health Professions. “We have got a lot of people with needs and without access, so I think that we can make an amazing contribution to the community, to the states particularly in rural areas.”
As of October, McNeill has taken on the position following the retirement of former dean Dr. Lachel Story. Despite loving the people and environment of her previous job at the University of Tennessee, she chose to come to USM only after ensuring that she would love the working environment here just as much. McNeill said that she knew she would after meeting USM faculty and students while visiting as the Cadenhead Lecturer last year.
“I have known Dr. McNeill professionally for some time. She is an accomplished researcher and leader in nursing, and her experience will serve the college well in this next chapter. No doubt she will continue the legacy of trailblazing the way to meet the healthcare needs of our state through exemplar education for which the college is known,” said Story, who now works at USM as a professor in the College of Nursing and Health Professions.
While McNeill’s long-term dream is to start a mobile health unit to help students and the community, for now that dream remains down the road. Currently, she plans to take time to get acquainted with the school and her new role. She said this year she will be focused on gaining a grasp of the people and opportunities, while next year she hopes to start moving forward with some of her ideas. She plans to use the known strengths and needs of the faculty to create synergy across the college.
McNeill has multiple degrees from across the country, including a Ph.D. from the University of Texas in Tyler, a master’s from the University of Texas in El Paso, a bachelor’s from the University of Arkansas, and an associate’s degree from Coastal Georgia Community College. She earned these degrees during her deployments while serving in the Army, where she served 13 years before leaving as a staff sergeant due to the birth of her first child.
McNeill jumped headfirst into the field of nursing and research, having made the decision because she wanted a job that she could do anywhere. She soon discovered her love for nursing, but her passion for research developed later. During her master’s program, she realized she had a talent for writing and fell in love with research — even crying when she got her first Ph.D. position.
“I’m a very pragmatic person, and I wanted a job that I could work whenever my husband was stationed after I got out. It just so happened that I fell in love with nursing,” McNeill said. “So I reflect back and think, ‘Gosh, what if I had done that and I hated nursing? That would have been a terrible mistake’ — but it didn’t turn out that way.”
McNeill has spent years working on research focused on public health, with much of her work being in emergency preparedness and response. She examines nurses’ knowledge and performance needs in disaster situations. She has written book chapters and collaborated with industrial engineers to study the placement of medical countermeasures to reach vulnerable populations.
This research led McNeill to an honor she never expected: being inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, a nationally recognized academic award for nurses who have made significant contributions to the field.
She earned this fellowship through her research and development of the only experience-based household emergency preparedness instrument, which has been translated into multiple languages and is designed to guide and prepare people in the event of a disaster. During COVID-19, it was used to help distribute medical countermeasures, making it possible to get vaccines to people who were homebound.
She has fought to help people, to give others hope and encouragement when they struggle or falter. McNeill’s humility has kept her from seeking recognition for her work, yet her desire to help students and communities in need has not gone unnoticed. The people who still seek her out for advice, years after working together — and her induction into the American Academy of Nursing — are proof of this.
“I’ve done a lot, but for me the things that I’m most proud of are how other people felt, because it represented that I was doing something right,” McNeill said. “You know, Maya Angelou said that people don’t remember what you say; they remember how you made them feel. And I want to try and make everyone feel important and cared for.”
McNeill has worked hard to get to where she is today. Years of research and schooling have led her down this path. When she first came to USM as the Cadenhead Lecturer, she never planned to apply for a position. She did not even know that Story planned to retire. But it was the people here — the staff and students in the College of Nursing and Health Professions and Dr. Joe Paul’s warm, enthusiastic energy — who drew her in. Now she plans to work hard to improve the school for the students, staff and community.
“Of course, I’m proud that I’m a dean. But I didn’t want to be a dean because I wanted the title,” McNeill said. “I wanted to be a dean because I feel like — I know — I want to help create something that is bigger than me. That faculty believe in, that they can get behind. And because I wanted to help people achieve their own goals, be able to remove barriers where I can.”