School of Nursing/School of Education and Human Services

Two OU leaders named ‘Notable Women in Education Leadership’

icon of a calendarSeptember 23, 2019

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Two OU leaders named ‘Notable Women in Education Leadership’
Judy Didion and Suzanne Klein

Judy Didion, professor and dean of Oakland University’s School of Nursing, and C. Suzanne Klein, associate professor and director of OU’s Galileo Institute for Teacher Leadership, have been named to Crain’s Detroit Business’ 2019 list of Notable Women in Education Leadership. Along with other honorees, Didion and Klein are featured in a special section of Crain’s September 23 online and print issue.   

The honorees were selected for demonstrating strong leadership in educational administration, advocating for changes in education policy, demonstrating creativity in providing programming and services for faculty and students, and being involved in industry and community organizations.

Judy Didion

Judy Didion

Since arriving at Oakland in 2016, Didion has guided the School of Nursing with a strong focus on providing the highest quality of nursing education. She has led the implementation of new tracks and curriculum that help address the evolving challenges of the health care profession while meeting stringent accreditation standards.

Under Didion’s leadership, Oakland’s School of Nursing was the first in the state to offer a BSN – DNP for nurse anesthesia education. The Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) has mandated that the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree be the entry-level degree for a nurse anesthesia education by 2025.   

Oakland also underwent a full review of its post-master’s DNP program by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, which is a leading accreditation agency for nursing education programs recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education to ensure optimal quality programs. All of OU’s nursing programs are accredited at the highest level. 

This fall, Oakland introduced a new nursing Ph.D. program that will prepare nurse scientists.  This program will also prepare future nurse educators who are essential to fill the faculty shortage for nursing schools.

Along with her impact on Oakland, Didion serves as a board member of Ascension Providence Rochester Hospital, president of the Michigan Association of Colleges of Nursing, University Administrator for the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, and an advisory board member of both the Beaumont Health Nurse Residency Program and Henry Ford Macomb Hospital Nurse Residency Program.

Suzanne Klein

Suzanne Klein

Klein has over 30 years of educational experience as a teacher, administrator, trainer, consultant, adviser, superintendent, committee member and chair, professor, reviewer, director and presenter in K-12 to Higher Education settings. At Oakland, she currently teaches in the Educational Specialist Program and coordinates the Central Office Certificate Program, in the Department of Organizational Leadership. She serves as an advisor to students in the Ed.D. and Ph.D. programs, and is also the director of OU’s Galileo Institute, which supports the advancement of teacher leadership and student learning through a variety of community-based projects and initiatives.

An active voice on policy initiatives at both the state and federal level, Klein serves as president of the Michigan Association of Professors of Educational Administration and a member of OU’s 2025 Strategic Planning Community Engagement Committee. She was co-chair of the first Galileo 3.0 Trusted Voices conference and now serves as a liaison to the current Galileo 3.0 Trusted Voices Fellows. She also is a co-founder of EdCampOU, a collaborative learning event for teachers and administrators to share and gain expertise on various education-related topics. Klein continues to facilitate the event, which will celebrate its seventh year in October. 

She is a member of the National Council of Professors in Educational Administration, the Michigan Association of School Administrators, the American Educational Research Association, and the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development. She presents regionally, nationally and internationally on the merits of strong educational leadership training, especially in the areas of women's leadership and platforms for female voices, with The International Women's Table being one of her most recent and influential projects.

Klein has also presented before, and led discussion with, the Higher Education Parliamentary Committee of the Iraqi House of Representatives, Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, and BMU French-Lebanese University Officials on the merits of strong educational leadership training. This summer, she presented two workshops on leadership in China: one geared toward business women in Beijing and the other for school principals.

The Notable Women in Education Leadership list is part of Crain’s Detroit Business’ Notable Women in Michigan series, which also recognizes women in STEM, human resources, marketing, real estate, nonprofits and more.

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