Leach College of Nursing

Saint Joseph School of Nursing was founded in 1920 by the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Joliet, Illinois. In 1987, a decision was made to discontinue the diploma program and begin a collegiate program offering the upper division nursing curriculum to students who had completed the required prerequisite courses. The last class graduated from the diploma program in 1989. The first B.S.N. class was admitted in August of 1988 and graduated in 1990. The baccalaureate nursing program received approval from the Illinois Board of Professional Regulation (1987) and the Illinois Board for Higher Education (1987), accreditation from the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (1994), North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (1992) and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (2005, 2010).

On January 1, 1997, Saint Joseph College of Nursing became a division of the College of St. Francis and took on the Allied Health programs. A year later, the move to university status was formalized and on January 1, 1998, the division was renamed College of Nursing and Allied Health. In 2000, the College began offering a Master of Science in Nursing.

In January 2001, the University started a Master of Science program in Family Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant Studies in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As part of a university reorganization in 2010, the Allied Health and Physician Assistant Programs were placed under the auspices of the College of Business and Health Administration. In November 2011, the college was renamed the Cecily and John Leach College of Nursing in honor of our long time benefactors.

Mission Statement

The Cecily and John Leach College of Nursing offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, a Master of Science in Nursing, and a Doctorate in Nursing Practice. The College’s mission is the education of individuals to be accountable practitioners of nursing who integrate the Franciscan values of respect, integrity, compassion, and service.

The program builds upon and integrates knowledge and values from general education courses in the liberal arts and sciences.

Program Goals

The Cecily and John Leach College of Nursing was established to provide an educational program which will prepare graduates to:

• Incorporate theoretical and empirical knowledge from the physical, social, and behavioral sciences and humanities into evidence-based nursing practice.
• Function effectively as a generalist providing culturally-sensitive nursing care across the lifespan and in a variety of settings in accordance with the current Illinois Nursing Act.
• Promote health, prevent illness and injury and provide nursing interventions that provide effective, efficient, and equitable care.
• Incorporate ethical/legal principles and respect for life and human dignity into nursing practice.
• Be accountable in safe nursing practice, resource conservation, and quality of care through leadership, clinical reasoning, and utilization of the nursing process.
• Use patient care technologies, informatics, and communication systems to facilitate safe, efficient, and effective nursing practice.
• Facilitate communication and collaboration among individuals, groups, health team members, and/or community.
• Act as a change agent to advance social consciousness of health care issues through political involvement and advocacy.
• Contribute to the advancement of the profession by engaging in leadership roles and professional organizations.
• Possess a strong knowledge base in preparation for graduate study.
• Value learning as a lifelong process for continued personal and professional growth.