Nelda S. Godfrey, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC

Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs
Clinical Associate Professor

Nelda S. Godfrey, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, was recently appointed Associate Dean, undergraduate programs, at the University of Kansas School of Nursing. Prior to joining the KU School of Nursing, Dr. Godfrey was Chair of the Department of Nursing at William Jewell College. She became a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Adult Health Nursing in 1994 and maintains American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) certification in adult advanced nursing practice. 

Dr. Godfrey completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Missouri in Columbia, her Masters in Nursing (clinical practice) from the University of Kansas and her PhD in Nursing from the University of Missouri. She is the president-elect of the Organizational Leadership Network through the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and serves on the WIRED grant of Kansas City selection committee for masters’ candidate funding. Dr. Godfrey has published in the areas of health care ethics, leadership in nursing and virtue ethics. She has also been a columnist in the Kansas City Star weekly publication, NurseWeek. 

She received the University of Missouri Sinclair School of Nursing Alumni Achievement Award and the Governor’s Teaching Award. Dr. Godfrey’s teaching experience includes more than 10 years of teaching in the liberal arts core curriculum.  She serves on the Liberty Hospital Ethics Committee and is an active member of the Center for Practical Bioethics.