PNW alumna and Clinical Assistant Professor Emerita Joan Dorman (MSN '87) was honored with a dedicated tree and bench at Gabis Arboretum at Purdue Northwest in recognition of her retirement after 22 years as a professor of nursing at PNW.
Purdue University Northwest (PNW) alumna and Clinical Assistant Professor Emerita Joan Dorman (MSN ’87) has dedicated her life to both the art of nursing and the joy of teaching.
Her journey took her from a middle school classroom to hospital hallways and busy emergency departments before bringing her back to the classroom as a university faculty member. Hers is a story of second chances, full-circle moments and a longstanding commitment to the university by a woman who refused to fade into obscurity.
In 2004, after more than 30 years as a hospital nurse, Dorman stepped back into the classroom as a clinical assistant professor in the College of Nursing at PNW, where she spent 22 years educating, mentoring, inspiring and supporting generations of nurses.
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“I was 60 years old when I unexpectedly lost my job at the hospital,” says Dorman. “At a time when I thought nobody would want to hire me, I feel like PNW saved my life. When I started at PNW, I never realized it would become the most rewarding chapter of my career.”
When I started at PNW, I never realized it would become the most rewarding chapter of my career.
Clinical Assistant Professor Emerita Joan Dorman (MSN ’87)
Dorman retired in 2026, yet her heart remains with PNW’s nursing students. To help future generations pursue their education, she and her husband, Edward, established the Dorman Family Endowed Scholarship in Nursing. Their generous gift reflects the belief that investing in students creates a lasting impact far beyond graduation, helping many students fulfill their dreams just as PNW helped Dorman fulfill her own.
Dorman’s career culminated with receiving the DAISY Award in 2026, a prestigious international honor recognizing extraordinary compassion in clinical care and nursing education. She was nominated by fellow faculty member, Patti Ludwig-Beymer, professor of nursing, for her dedication to nursing and her kind and caring influence on colleagues and students.
In the beginning
Growing up on Chicago’s South Side, Dorman always dreamed of becoming a teacher. After earning her degree in education, she taught seventh grade before stepping away to raise her three children. Years later, eager for a new challenge, she enrolled in nursing school, a decision that opened the door to a decades-long career in health care.
While earning an associate degree from Thornton Community College in South Holland, Illinois, Dorman fell in love with nursing.
“At first I had no idea what I was getting into,” says Dorman. “I was immediately taken with it. Anatomy, physiology, nursing—I just loved it!”
She began her nursing career working nights on a medical-surgical unit at what was then St. Margaret’s Hospital in Hammond, Indiana, and years later transitioned to the emergency department, where she served as a nurse manager for three years. During that time, she earned a BSN from the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana, followed by an MSN from PNW in 1987.
Coming full circle
After losing her job at the hospital, a colleague encouraged Dorman to apply for a clinical faculty position at PNW. Initially hesitant and filled with self-doubt, she accepted the challenge and in 2004 joined the PNW nursing faculty, beginning what she calls “the best 22 years of my life.”
Educating future nurses quickly became a calling, bringing her career full circle. The girl who once dreamed of teaching and the woman who built a career in nursing had finally found a career that combined both her passions.
PNW is a part of me and I believe in its future. My goal has always been to help PNW prepare young people for the future, one they have earned and will truly enjoy.
Clinical Assistant Professor Emerita Joan Dorman (MSN ’87)
Making an impact
In 2009, Dorman received an invitation to attend an ethics roundtable at Oxford University in England.
“I thought if I’m going to attend, then I want to present,” says Dorman. “I’d been teaching ethics and was disappointed with the ethical decision-making frameworks that were in the textbooks. So I developed what I call the ethical positioning system—a practical framework to help nurses navigate complex ethical dilemmas.”
Her presentation was well received by an audience of doctors, ethicists, clergy and lawyers and resulted in her authoring several chapters for a nursing textbook, as well as presenting her work at conferences both nationally and internationally.
However, Dorman’s greatest impact in the field of nursing has been on the students she’s taught during her time at PNW. Beyond teaching clinical skills, she emphasized compassion, empathy and treating every patient with dignity and respect. She encouraged her students to “strive for excellence and be the nurse every nurse wants to follow, the one they look to as a resource and a role model.”
An educator’s heart
Dorman’s scholarship focused on ethics and storytelling as a learning strategy. In addition to teaching nursing ethics, she served as coordinator for the senior-level clinical practicum and was a preceptor for MSN nursing students in the nurse educator program.
Beyond the classroom, Dorman made a lasting impact on PNW’s College of Nursing as an active participant in curriculum development. She helped introduce simulation technology into the curriculum, was instrumental in the adoption of experiential learning, developed and taught online courses for the RN-to-BSN program, served on the Faculty Senate and established a nurse camp to introduce high school students to the profession.
After reviving PNW’s chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the international honor society for nurses, Dorman served as president for more than a decade, organizing public programs on health and wellness topics.
Her passion and motivation for teaching came from watching her students transform from hesitant learners into confident professionals. “I loved seeing them grow and thrive,” says Dorman. “They would go from asking “where’s the nurse?” to realizing “I’m the nurse!”
A lasting legacy
Dorman remains dedicated to the university that gave her a second act and its students.
As to why she continues to support PNW, her answer is simple. “PNW is a part of me and I believe in its future,” says Dorman. “My goal has always been to help PNW prepare young people for the future, one they have earned and will truly enjoy.”
