Associate Professor of the School of Nursing
School Of Nursing
Education
Noël M. Kerr received her B.S.N. from San Jose State University in 1983 and her M.N. in Medical-Surgical Nursing from U.C.L.A. in 1991. She earned her PhD in Nursing at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in 2011.
Biography
Prior to joining the faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University in 2010, Dr. Kerr was an Assistant Professor in the Orvis School of Nursing at the University of Nevada, Reno (2006 – 2007) and a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Nursing at Bradley University in Peoria, IL (2009). From August 2008 through November 2011, she worked per diem as a Staff Nurse on the Acute Surgical unit and full-time as a Credentialed EPIC Trainer (2009 – 2010) at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, IL. Before pursuing the faculty role, she held Staff nurse, Research nurse, Case Management and Clinical Nurse Specialist positions in Northern and Southern California and Reno, Nevada.
Dr. Kerr maintains certification in Medical-Surgical Nursing (CMSRN) through the Medical-Surgical Certification Board (MSNCB). She holds a Certificate in Health Informatics from the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a Certificate in Geriatrics for Non-Physicians through the Continuing Education Institute of Illinois. She maintained clinical practice as a Staff Nurse working per diem on the Acute Surgical unit at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, IL until December 2020.
With a life-long interest in travel, and learning about other cultures, she has focused on study and service abroad while at IWU. Dr. Kerr led the May Term Travel Course "Transcultural Healthcare in Hawaii" on the islands of Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii 5-times between 2012-2022, volunteered with students during Medical-Dental Clinics in Honduras with Global Brigades on four, separate occasions, and served as Director of the IWU Barcelona Program during Spring 2024.
Dr. Kerr is a member a 6-person, interdisciplinary team that received a grant titled “Building Capacity to Increase Global Engagement Across the Curriculum,” a 2-year Undergraduate and International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) Grant from the U.S. Department of Education. One of just 13 grants of its type awarded nationwide, this funding will further advance IWU’s mission of preparing students to live and work as responsible citizens in a globalized society. The total funding of the award ($284,651 over 2023-2025) will allow IWU students to experience more study abroad opportunities while enhancing existing programs related to international and global studies, world languages and preprofessional programs.
Honors & Memberships
Dr. Kerr is a member of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN), the Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS), Phi Kappa Phi, and the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI). She has led or been an active member on multiple AMSN National Task Forces and Committees and served on the AMSN Board of Directors from 2003 – 2006. Dr. Kerr also served on the Editorial Board for MEDSURG Nursing: The Journal of Adult Health from 2006 through 2011, and has served on the Manuscript Review Panel for that journal since 2012.