Dr. Terri Covello was part of the SCC Family for five years. In that time, she doubled the size of the College’s Nursing programs, brought us state and regional notoriety with our achievements, earned kudos from ACEN (Nursing accreditation agency), and forged alliances with clinical settings only Dr. Terri (as many referenced her) could align. Also, along the way, she established a series of friendships that can only happen with special people in special places. Terri was one of those special people and SCC is one of those special places.

Often, when Dr. Terri and I would talk about the Nursing programs, she would qualify it with, “We bring in a lot of students!” and then would work to convince me she needed more computers, classroom space, materials, or support, for the many proposals she brought forth. Former CFO Kevin Kutcher, upon learning of Terri’s passing, expressed how passionately she crusaded for her nursing students, the nursing staff, and the profession as a whole.

While we were all stunned, shocked, and overwhelmed with Dr. Terri’s passing, we all recognized what she did in a brief amount of time. As mentioned above, the Nursing program is outstanding due to Dr. Terri’s leadership. She hired most of the current staff, took aggressive actions to make us great, and established standards we must meet to maintain our position as the best Nursing programs in New Jersey. None of this happens in a vacuum. Terri inspired the staff to be the best around in order to develop the best nurses in the region.  And they have.

Dr. Terri had many ideas and projects to pursue at the time of her passing. Most prolific among them is the expansion of the Davidow Hall facility, adding a Nursing Lecture Hall, another lab, and additional office space. We are committed to pursuing her dream. As the days pass and the pain of loss softens, we will have more to discuss on these fronts. For now, let us grieve, remembering our colleague and friend, Dr. Terri Covello. We promise to maintain the standards she set and fulfill the dreams she held for SCC Nursing, as well as us as a College.

Thank you, Dr. Covello