Barbara “Barb” Allerton, MSN, RN, associate professor in the School of Nursing, will retire at the end of the spring semester, after 34 years of teaching nursing in Idaho. She has been teaching at Boise State University for 20 years.
The community is invited to celebrate with her and her colleagues for a farewell party from 3-5 p.m. on Thursday, May 2 in the Student Union Barnwell Room.
In honor of all of Barb’s international endeavors, we will be having a Dim Sum buffet with: egg rolls, pot stickers, sweet and spicy boneless chicken wings, served with assorted dipping sauces, including sweet chile and cucumber vinaigrette, and gourmet dessert bars.
In order to ensure plenty of food, please let Sherepta McLeod (shereptamcleod@boisestate.edu or 6-5313) know that you plan to attend the reception.
While at Boise State, Allerton developed a partnership between the Boise State School of Nursing and the School of Nursing at Hangzhou Normal University in Hangzhou, China. The partnership continues today with regular faculty and student exchanges. Allerton will lead a study abroad to Hangzhou and Beijing this May.
With her colleagues, Allerton organized the International Nursing Opportunities Committee (INOC), which has fostered development of relationships with schools in the Netherlands, the Philippines and Canada. The partnership between Boise State’s School of Nursing and the University of Lethbridge in Alberta Canada is ongoing today.
INOC was also responsible for writing and receiving the first Internationalization Initiative grant in the university. With this grant, the committee developed courses and a global world view thread in the school’s curriculum.
Prior to joining the Boise State faculty, Allerton taught for 10 years at Lewis and Clark State College and four years at Idaho State University. She has taught a wide variety of courses at each institution. She served as acting program chair of the bachelor’s nursing program at Lewis and Clark State College and she has served as the president of the Idaho Nurses Association.
In the next phase of her life, Allerton intends to continue to travel, both domestically and abroad, as well as revive her creative side and volunteer with local healthcare agencies, international humanitarian work in healthcare, and possibly with the Idaho Humane Society.