From Near-Failure to
National Recognition
Today, the WSSU School of Health Sciences is one of the major providers of nurses in North Carolina. In the 1980s, however, times were difficult for the School of Nursing at WSSU. Declining enrollment and low scores on the state licensure exam caused some groups, including the UNC Board of Governors, to consider closing the program. Much of the credit for saving the program and for the university’s growth in the healthcare field can be attributed to Cleon F. Thompson, Jr., chancellor of WSSU from 1985 to 1995. At a time when it appeared there was no way the nursing program would be continued, Thompson continued to fight to save it. “Cleon had a tremendous impact during his 10 years at Winston-Salem State,” said Chancellor Donald J. Reaves. “It was during this time that the nursing program was revitalized and the university saw an increase in both the student body and the size of the faculty.” Thompson received similar praise from Paul Fulton, retired president of Sara Lee Corporation and a former member of the WSSU Board of Trustees.
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“There is no doubt that Cleon’s tenacity and his belief in the importance of the nursing program at Winston-Salem State laid the foundation for the outstanding health sciences programs the university offers today,” Fulton said. “He fought to keep the program alive because he saw the potential and he had the fortitude to make it happen. Cleon is a visionary and someone who can also implement that vision.”
Innovative leadership A key component of Thompson’s strategy to rejuvenate the nursing program was to identify someone who understood the discipline and who had the drive to get the job done. In 1989, he chose Sylvia Flack, a 1968 WSSU graduate with extensive experience in healthcare practice and administration. “Under Cleon’s leadership, the Board of Trustees agreed to give the program time to improve,” said Flack, now executive director of the university’s Center of Excellence for the Elimination of Health Disparities. “He convinced me that this was something I had to do for the students, the university and for the community that needed our nursing program.
“The best thing he did, however, was to step back and give the program to the faculty,” Flack explained. “Not many leaders would do that, but he did. The faculty worked to reinforce the curriculum and to create mastery levels for our students. We began to see a difference in the number of students who could pass the state board once we gave them the knowledge and the confidence they needed. Cleon stayed with us through the process and was there to stand up for the things we needed him to do, such as make sure our students had access to the clinical spaces they needed to support their success. His ability to work with the community helped us when we needed it.”
Dr. Sylvia Flack helped rejuvenate the university’s nursing program in the late 1980s. Today, she heads WSSU’s nationally acclaimed Center of Excellence for the Elimination of Healthcare Disparities.
Summer 2012
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