Kathy Czekanski Named Director of
Graduate Nursing Programs at La Salle University 

La Salle University has named Kathy Czekanski, Ph.D., R.N., Director of Graduate Nursing Programs in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences. 

“Kathy is a highly experienced nurse and certified nurse educator. When I met her, I saw a deeply committed nurse who is especially committed to elder-care,” said Zane Robinson Wolf, Ph.D., R.N., Dean of La Salle’s School of Nursing and Health Sciences. “At a time when there is a shortage of nursing educators, we are extremely fortunate to have her.” 

In her new position, Czekanski will oversee La Salle’s graduate nursing programs, including the R.N. to M.S.N. program. She will handle the recruitment of students, program initiatives for graduate nursing, coordination of faculty and teaching, and grant-writing to help secure funds for the School of Nursing and Health Sciences programs.   

“I’ve heard many great things about La Salle over the years, and when I heard of the opening, I thought it looked like a nice challenge for me,” said Czekanski.  

Czekanski comes to La Salle after serving as assistant professor and instructor for the past 12 years at Thomas Jefferson University. While at Jefferson, she was the recipient of the Excellence in End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium Award from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) and the City of Hope Cancer Center.  For this award, she was recognized for her creative and innovative implementation of end-of-life care into the undergraduate nursing curriculum.  

Knowing that it is often difficult find nurses for end-of-life care, Czekanski required her students to spend some of their clinical hours with a hospice worker. “Often, student nurses do not want to work in hospices because they are worried the experience is going to be depressing,” explains Czekanski. “However, when they experience working with hospice patients, they enjoy it. The students are surprised to find how pleasant and appreciative the patients really are.”  

Czekanski has also worked with Jefferson’s Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health as the Nursing Interventionist on several funded studies with caregivers of persons with dementia.  

A resident of Mount Laurel, N.J., Czekanski has worked at various health facilities throughout South Jersey, including Our Lady of Lourdes School of Nursing in Camden, Samaritan Hospice in Marlton, Moorestown Visiting Nurses Association, and Lourdes Home Health Services/Haddon Health Care in Collingswood.  

Czekanski earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Villanova University and her master’s degree in nursing from Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey). She received her doctoral degree in nursing from Duquesne University. She completed her dissertation on how dementia caregivers transition into the caregiving role.