Published: November 02, 2009 12:00 am      

Alumna honored at ’Wick

By Denise Richardson
Staff Writer

Professor Emerita of Nursing Sharon Davidson Dettenrieder, class of 1965, was honored Oct. 3 with Hartwick College’s inaugural President’s Award for Liberal Arts in Practice.

The recognition, est a b l i s h e d this year by P r e s i d e n t Margaret L. Drugovich, celebrates Dettenrieder’s work toward extending the values of a Hartwick education into her life’s work, according to a media release.

The award was presented during the Nursing Alumni Reception as part of this year’s Homecoming & Reunion weekend.

“I am shocked, I am overwhelmed. I have to say thank you and thank you and thank you,” Dettenrieder said in accepting the award. “I could not have done half of the things in my life without a Hartwick education. ... I am deeply honored.”

Surrounded by her colleagues, students and friends, Dettenrieder was lauded as instrumental in founding the college’s Transcultural Nursing program, which has provided an experiential link for generations of Hartwick nurses and bettered the lives of people in St. Thomas Parish, Jamaica, according to the release.

Among her accomplishments are the establishment of Hartwick’s chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the international nursing honor society; the creation of the Partnership for Nursing Opportunities p r o g r a m with Bassett Healthcare; and her work on many faculty and department committees.

The award was created this year to recognize a member of the Hartwick community who demonstrates his or her commitment to bringing theory and practice together to generate knowledge and understandings; continually develops his or her capacity for critical thinking, ethical action and reflection; and seeks to build a deeper understanding of similarities and differences across time and space, among other qualifications, according to the release.

“You embody all that Hartwick College has meant to so many, for so long,” Drugovich said in announcing Dettenrieder as this year’s recipient. “As an alumna of this venerable institution, your passion for its values and virtues has been shared with many during your time among its faculty, and your legacy carries on in the work that continues here today.”

Dettenrieder joined the Hartwick faculty in 1986 and was appointed chairwoman of the nursing department in 2000. She has served as an advocate and member of Oneonta organizations including the Catskill Area Hospice and the EDD Memorial Fund, which she established in memory of her son, Eric.