After 28 years of leadership and service to Georgia State University, Dr. Susan Kelley is retiring. A professor of nursing, Dr. Kelley has filled many administrative roles in the Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions and its predecessor, the College of Health and Human Sciences.
Dr. Kelley’s tenure at Georgia State began in 1994 when she came from the Boston College School of Nursing, where she was a professor and department chair. After two years on the Georgia State School of Nursing faculty, she became the director and then associate dean of research for the College of Health and Human Sciences. She was dean of the college from 1998 until June 2011, including a year as acting dean. She later stepped in to lead the School of Nursing in 2017 for two years.
Shortly after arriving at Georgia State, Dr. Kelley founded Project Healthy Grandparents. This research-community service program supports grandparents raising grandchildren, providing social services, legal assistance and home nurse visits to build up intergenerational care families. In 27 years, PHG has served more than 3,500 grandparents and grandchildren in DeKalb and Fulton Counties. Dr. Kelley has secured over $8 million in extramural funding for PHG.
Also, through PHG as a research program, Dr. Kelley authored numerous journal articles and book chapters on aspects of grandparents raising grandchildren. In 2002, she also founded the National Center on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, an organization that shares data and lessons learned on intergenerational kinship care on a national level. She received numerous national awards, including the Outstanding Research Career Achievement Award from the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and the Professional Excellence Award from Boston College.
As a pediatric nurse, Dr. Kelley has also written a textbook Pediatric Emergency Nursing, now in its second edition. She has also written 11 textbook chapters and over 60 journal articles on various topics related to child maltreatment and pediatric nursing. Kelley serves or has served on the editorial boards of 22 peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Kelley has left an enduring mark on Georgia State, particularly during her years as dean. College enrollment doubled from 1,700 students to 3,400. She established a new academic program, public health, eventually becoming the stand-alone School of Public Health. Also, under Dr. Kelley’s leadership, the college launched three doctorates, including a Ph.D. in criminal justice, one in public health, and a Doctor of Physical Therapy. Lastly, during Dr. Kelley’s tenure, the college quadrupled research funding to nearly 10 million dollars.
“As the second-longest serving dean in the history of the college, Dr. Kelley has left a lasting mark with her dedicated leadership and service,” said Dr. Huanbiao Mo, dean of the Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions. “She has always been generous in sharing her wisdom and administrative experience. We are indebted to her for her tremendous contributions and wish her well in the next phase of her career.”
Dr. Kelley earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from Boston University and her Ph.D. in developmental and educational psychology from Boston College. She previously served on the national board of directors of Prevent Child Abuse America and the national board of the Academy on Violence and Abuse. Currently, she serves on the board of Atlanta’s Mercy Care. Dr. Kelley is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau national nursing honor society and is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.