Dean of Healthcare Retires After 30 Dedicated Years at QCC

Jane June, DNP, RN, first came to QCC in 1986, to develop the curriculum and start the Paramedic Program at the college. In the past 30 years, she has seen the college expand, helped steer and open the new Healthcare and Workforce Development Center in downtown Worcester, as well as been involved in advisory boards and accreditation programs at other community colleges through the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing.

For the past 20 years, she has also been an administrator at St. Vincent’s Hospital, working as an Administrative Coordinator on the weekends.

Dr. June became Dean of Healthcare and Human Services in 2004, and in 2007 the roles were realigned and she became Dean of Healthcare.

“Several years ago, I was asked about my vision of the future of healthcare and I drew it on a napkin,” she said. “People still joke with me about ‘what was on that napkin’ but the downtown campus is what came out of that conceptualization.”

She envisioned a simulation lab in the center, with different healthcare labs around it. Because of the layout of the existing building, instead of a center hub, there are simulation labs on each floor, with nine different bays for students to learn and practice.

“It is a state-of-the-art healthcare facility, which is great for both students and faculty,” Dr. June said. The faculty helped design the labs to better suit their specific programs and the demands of the workforce. “Teaching is done much differently than when I went to nursing school,” she said. “It is much more multi-disciplinary as well.”

She said she is more comfortable retiring now that she knows that facility is up and running strong. There are almost 600 students in the healthcare program, and she estimated about 200 in the workforce development and adult education departments in the building at 25 Federal St. in Worcester.

“We were able to be a part of the downtown revitalization, to bring students and faculty downtown,” she said. “It is more accessible for students, and closer to St. Vincent’s, which is one of our primary clinical sites.”

The college also has been able to increase enrollment in the nursing program with the downtown facility.

Dr. June said another accomplishment that she is proud of is establishing the 3+1 program with Worcester State University, where students can earn credits for three years at QCC then finish their bachelor’s degree in nursing at Worcester State University.

“Earning a bachelor’s in nursing is where the nursing profession wants people to be educated, it is valuable for career development,” she said. Students can start their pre-requisites while they are waiting to get into the nursing program, and then once they graduate with their associate’s degree they can start working as a Registered Nurse (RN) while they are finishing their bachelor’s degree.

“It has been great working here at QCC, the people are so dedicated to the students,” Dean June said. “We really have a great faculty and administrative support.”

She finished at QCC on December 23, and also is retiring from St. Vincent’s Hospital. She will continue to serve on the Board of Trustees at St. Vincent Hospital and is still on the Accreditation Commission For Education in Nursing, where she is on the Board of Commissioners.

She is going out west to Santa Barbara, California, to visit her two daughters and grandchildren for the winter, but will still be teaching an online course for Worcester State.

She is looking forward to the birth of twin grandsons in the spring, when she will return to the East Coast to welcome them. She also plans to continue playing competitive tennis, both in Santa Barbara and at the Greendale YMCA, where she plays mixed and women’s doubles. 

As Healthcare Dean, she oversaw both the Practical Nursing and Associate Degree programs. Additionally, she oversaw 16 allied health programs, supervising about 50 full-time faculty and staff members. She received her diploma in nursing from St. Vincent Hospital, her master’s degree in nursing in both patient education and management from Anna Maria College and a doctorate of nursing practice from Chatham University.

As an administrative coordinator at St. Vincent Hospital, her clinical expertise includes education, emergency and intensive care nursing. She has also served as a consultant to community colleges, and is a member of several local advisory boards.