XAVIER University-Ateneo de Cagayan’s College of Nursing and Boston College’s Connell School of Nursing entered into a partnership agreement on academic and research engagement.

Barry Family/Goldman Sachs Endowed Professor in Nursing and Associate Dean for Research Christopher Lee and Xavier University President Mars P. Tan, S.J. signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize the partnership.

“We hope to learn from Boston College and share our best features and practices as well,” Fr. Tan said.

“I am confident the collaboration will be fruitful for both institutions,” he added.

The two sides discussed teacher and student exchanges. Faculty at Xavier Ateneo are eyeing expanding the use of nursing simulation and laying the groundwork for future study.

Corrine Jurgens, an associate professor at the Connell School, will work on creating a series of resources for Xavier Ateneo professors for research programs, reviewing projects for ethical consideration and collaborating with others to publish and disseminate findings.

“We will be working on writing a state-of-the-science paper(s) for publication. These papers will assist in identification of gaps in knowledge and direction for future research,” Jurgens said.

“I foresee [Connell School] research faculty outlining the evolution of their programs of research followed by development of research teams to build a collaborative international research relationship,” he added.