Janice Hawkins Makes Global Impact at ODUGlobal

From the front lines of healthcare to educating the next generation, Janice Hawkins is no stranger when it comes to serving a healthier world. Janice Hawkins is a Clinical Associate Professor at Old Dominion University where she serves as the program director for the Nurse Executive Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) concentration, a program that focuses on executive leadership skills for nurses. She is also the Director of Community and Global Initiatives.

As a program director at Old Dominion University, Hawkins transforms graduates into providers and administrators in the healthcare field. She engages with her students online while advocating for the use of health care technology, taking leadership, and sharing the impact of climate change. In the classroom, her students develop advocacy skills which help them navigate health policy changes. She says, "Our students are often working full-time jobs or have family responsibilities. ODUGlobal’s education provides the flexibility they need to advance their careers."

When she’s not in the classroom, Hawkins exercises her efforts across the world serving as a United Nations Liaison for the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma). Sigma is a nonprofit organization on a mission to advance world health and celebrating nursing excellence in scholarship, leadership, and service. As a liaison, Hawkin’s innovative thinking allows her to collaborate with world leaders to promote the value of nursing leadership beyond ODU’s campus. In addition to being a Sigma UN Liaison, she is the current president of Sigma’s Epsilon Chi Chapter at Old Dominion University.

“As a nurse, I've had many opportunities to make a difference in people's lives and to make this a healthier world for everyone," Hawkins says. "Nurses are often on the front lines of health care serving people when they are most vulnerable. That's where I want to be.”

Advocating on the front line in health care is not an uncommon practice for Hawkins, who served her country as an Army Nurse (Retired). Hawkins is a highly skilled and trained healthcare professional who has gone above and beyond her uniforms to serve in her purpose, mission, and passion to make a difference in peoples' lives.

Hawkins shares her nursing expertise in health promotion, global health, climate change and health policy. As an advocate for global change, her presence and leadership at Old Dominion University positively impact the success of students, faculty, and populations around the globe.

Old Dominion University, located in the coastal city of Norfolk, is Virginia's entrepreneurial-minded doctoral research university and has been delivering distance-learning programs for 35 years. It offers more than 120 programs through ODUGlobal in a variety of formats, allowing students to complete degree programs across the world. ODU serves more than 24,000 students annually by providing the same rigorous academics online and on-campus. Learn more about ODUGlobal's programs by visiting online.odu.edu.