When Dr. Bonnie Beardsley, a Walden University alumna and faculty member, attended ROTC leadership training in Fort Knox, Ky., last June, she donned fatigues and joined students in rock climbing, wall repelling and river crossing. She also joined fellow educators and the training’s course designers to discuss leadership development on college campuses.

Toward the end of the training, Beardsley, who has military experience and an extensive background in nursing and education, was approached by military leaders who wanted her to face a new challenge—serving on the U.S. Army Educational Advisory Committee.

As a member of the ROTC Program Subcommittee, Beardsley will provide the secretary of the Army, the chief of staff and the Army’s senior leadership with advice on Army educational programs. Specifically, as the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s representative, Beardsley will assist in designing curricula to bridge the gap between serving as a nurse in the military and as a civilian.

“In this century, nurses face challenges of constant and multidimensional chaos. As leaders, it is imperative we refocus turmoil into a vision of the future, taking risks and embracing change. Embracing change includes mentoring and modeling professional behaviors for a new generation of nurses,” Beardsley says. “This appointment offers opportunities for me to illuminate a path, introduce a vision, walking side by side with future nurses through turbulent times in our society. Leadership is not something that we do because we have to, it is something we do because it is our responsibility to society.”

Beardsley is a faculty member in Walden’s School of Health and Human Services as well as a professor and the director of nursing programs at Olivet Nazarene University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from ONU, a master’s degree in nursing from Lewis University, and a Ph.D. in Education from Walden University in 2003.

Beardsley has more than 20 years of experience in nursing practice (both for the Army and as a civilian), administration, research and education. She is the recipient of numerous honors, including Walden’s Frank Dilley outstanding dissertation award, Who’s Who Among American Teachers 2004 and 2005, and the Illinois League for Nursing (now the Nurse Educators of Illinois) award for outstanding faculty research (2002) and outstanding educator (2000).

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