Janet Sipple (January 28, 1943–February 9, 2024)
Janet A. Sipple, founding chairperson of the nursing program at Moravian University, passed away on February 9, 2024. Prior to her time at Moravian, she was the founding dean of the Barnes College School of Nursing in St Louis, Missouri, and served as the chairperson of the Division of Nursing at Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina.
Sipple devoted her professional life to leading baccalaureate nursing education programs and to promoting international healthcare initiatives. She was the epitome of a community health nurse with a focus on providing care to vulnerable populations.
While at Moravian, she spearheaded the development of international healthcare courses offered for nursing majors. These offerings sent students and faculty to developed yet distant regions of the globe including Queensland, Australia, and to underdeveloped parts of the globe, such as Honduras.
Moravian’s nursing program benefited from Sipple’s fierce leadership, boundless knowledge, and innovation. She pushed the boundaries routinely and brought many along on her incredible journey. Sipple’s work as a nurse and educator was not merely a career but an unwavering commitment to the profession. Her greatest sources of pride, outside of her family, were the success of her students and colleagues. Sipple was a mentor, friend, and source of inspiration to all she knew. She exemplified resilience in the face of adversity and a southern spirit that loved to plan over-the-top celebrations. We will always remember how Sipple would quietly (but most times not-so-quietly) root for and provide support and courage for the underdog.
The School of Nursing and Public Health is grateful that Sipple’s legacy will continue through the Janet A. Sipple Lecture Endowment Fund, which finances the lecture and was created to honor Sipple for her role in establishing the St. Luke’s School of Nursing at Moravian College. The endowment was conceived in consultation with members of the nursing faculty to support programming on international healthcare, public health leadership, or world community service.—Dawn Goodolf, associate dean and associate professor of nursing