Kathleen M. Rourke is a Professor of Nursing and Interim Dean of the College of Health Sciences at SUNY Polytechnic Institute.  She retains extensive experience as a professor & administrator of programs within nursing, nutrition/dietetics, medicine & the health sciences.  In her present position she is responsible for developing & expanding a new College of Health Sciences. She does continue to teach one course in nutritional biochemistry online at the University of Louisiana; Lafayette.  Dr. Rourke has held several senior administrative appointments ranging from Chairperson of a Board of Trustee’s to Dean.  Dr. Rourke has been instrumental in developing & implementing innovative curriculum & academic restructuring within higher education, & is widely published in nursing & the health sciences.   Dr. Rourke retains a BS in Microbiology and Nutrition from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, MA., a BSN in Nursing from Creighton University in Omaha, NE., a MS in Health Promotion with a concentration in Worksite Health Promotion from Russell Sage College in Troy, NY and a MSN in Nursing Leadership and a certificate in Education from Regis University in Denver, CO as well as a PhD in Nutrition Science from Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY.