September 30, 2012

Rita K. Adeniran, a 2011 graduate of the College’s DNP Program, was invited into the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Executive Nurse Fellowship Program. Adeniran previously served as Global Nurse Ambassador for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and is the current Director of Diversity and Inclusion for the Hospital. She is excited and grateful for this opportunity. “I look forward to the Executive Nurse Fellows Program providing me with a platform to help the most vulnerable populations,” Adeniran said, “and I hope other minorities will see my selection as inspiration for them to make a difference, too.”

Adeniran attended the Lagos University Teaching Hospital across the globe in Lagos, Nigeria before receiving a Bachelor’s degree in nursing from Widener University. She then pursued her Master’s in Nursing Science and Health Care Administration at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by the completion of our Doctoral Nurse Practitioner program here at the College. Adeniran has dedicated her 25-year career to serving vulnerable populations through her leadership roles in the healthcare industry. During a quarter of a century, Adeniran has worked as a medical-surgical and critical care nurse, as a home health care administrator and consultant, and as a global nurse ambassador. The diversity of her occupations has allowed her to become active in numerous clubs and associations, such as Sigma Theta Tau International and the American Organization of Nurse Executives.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation created the Executive Nurse Fellows program in 1998 to reinforce the leadership capabilities of healthcare leaders across the country. Through the fellowship, which lasts for three consecutive years, Adeniran will not only have the chance to receive strategic coaching and education, but will also cultivate a new plan or program to advance health care delivery in the Philadelphia area. Adeniran was one of only 20 to be granted this fellowship out of the more than 150 who applied.