Alumnus Appointed Dean of Nursing at MSU
Randolph Rasch holds a number of "firsts" in nursing field
Andrews University nursing alumnus Randolph Rasch was appointed as the ninth Dean of Nursing for Michigan State University (MSU), the eighth largest public university in America. Rasch is a fellow in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, a prominent scholar in the National Academies of Practice and has worked as a family practitioner for over ten years.
Prior to his current position, Rasch served as visiting professor and interim chair of the Department of Nursing at North Carolina Central University-Durham, professor of nursing at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNGC) and chair of the Department of Community Practice Nursing in the School of Nursing at UNGC.
As an African-American male, Rasch is a pioneer in many fields: graduating in the nursing program at Andrews, earning a master’s in the Family Nurse Practitioner concentration, earning a PhD in nursing and becoming a public health nurse in the State of Michigan.
“My education from Andrews University was focused on actual practice. The kind of assignments we had in nursing were rooted in the world of practice and fostered a holistic approach to practice and to life,” Rasch says. “Nursing is a holistic practice and the basis for general education at Andrews was the same. There is a spiritual foundation to every human being regardless of religious affiliation, belief in God or lack of belief in God. There is a spiritual piece that is a part of what you do as a nurse.”
Rasch says many things he’s looked at concerning curriculum at MSU are rooted in what he was taught at Andrews.
“The commitment to provide the kind of care a nurse needs to was rooted in my baccalaureate program,” he says. “While religion is a factor in how you’re prepared, the nursing department at Andrews instilled in me how to meet patients where they are individually.”
Andrews University’s Department of Nursing is proud of their alumni and are happy to celebrate Rasch’s most recent accomplishment with him.
“We are privileged and honored to have Dr. Rasch as an alumnus,” says Gisela Schmidt, interim chair of the Andrews Department of Nursing. “Since Dr. Rasch’s graduation from the nursing program his outstanding and extensive experience in leadership positions and expertise in nursing education directed his way throughout many significant endeavors. His present appointment is an occasion on which we would like to recognize and congratulate him, and recognize the excellence of the nursing program at Andrews University where he walked his first steps in the nursing profession.”
For more information on the Department of Nursing visit andrews.edu/nursing or contact the Department of Nursing at 800-877-2862 or nursing@andrews.edu.
