Medical Researcher's Gift Establishes Chair in Nursing

The Dr. Elizabeth E. Force Chair for Healthcare Research will bring a national leader in nursing research to serve in a key leadership role in the College.

Dr. Elizabeth E. Force has pledged a generous estate gift to the FAU Foundation that will bring a national leader in nursing research to serve in a key leadership role in the College of Nursing.

By gisele galoustian | 9/22/2015

Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing has announced the establishment of the Dr. Elizabeth E. Force Chair for Healthcare Research.

Force, who retired from Merck – Medical Affairs, has pledged a generous estate gift to the FAU Foundation that will bring a national leader in nursing research to serve in a key leadership role in the College.

Based on her experience as a medical researcher, Force realized the importance of nursing research focused on preventing disease, relieving suffering and improving health.

“I began thinking about my resources, and how they could be put to use to advance nursing research and offer something unique to FAU. It makes me happy to know that someone’s full time job will be to lead research,” said Force. “The information FAU nursing students gain will continually stimulate the highest level of care for our community.”

Force’s lifelong passion for science was evident early on, from playing with a chemistry set as a child to being the only woman in her pre-med program at Temple University. She went on to work for pharmaceutical giants Smith Kline and Merck while pursuing post-graduate work, first at the University of Pennsylvania and then George Washington University Medical School, where she completed her Ph.D. in clinical epidemiology and environmental health. Her early career in pharmaceutical research included work on the polio vaccine. Then later, as executive director of the Medical Regulatory Standards Section, she was responsible for final approval of drug studies for NDA inclusion, drug labeling and scientific quality assurance, as well as working directly with the FDA.

“We are so incredibly grateful to Dr. Force for her generous legacy gift to the College by establishing the Dr. Elizabeth E. Force Chair for Healthcare Research,” said Marlaine Smith, Ph.D., dean of the College of Nursing. “Her passion for research will endure and enhance the education of nursing students for many years to come.”

FAU’s College of Nursing is internationally known for its commitment to nursing as a discipline focused on nurturing the wholeness of persons and the environment through Caring. The College advances Caring knowledge through education, practice, research and scholarship to transform care locally, nationally and globally. Currently, the College of Nursing offers bachelor’s, master’s, DNP and Ph.D. degree programs with approximately 1,600 nursing students enrolled in its programs. For more information, visit www.nursing.fau.edu.

-FAU-