Debra
Casper
August 2025
Debra
Casper
,
D.N.P., RN, ACNP, CCRN
Marquette University College of Nursing
Milwaukee
,
WI
United States

 

 

 

Deb influences our college in multiple ways to engage in empathy-building and fairness.
Dr. Deb Casper embodies excellence, faith, leadership, and service in all that she does. As the program director of the Adult Gerontology Acute-Care Nurse Practitioner program in the College of Nursing at Marquette and president of the Delta Gamma at Large Chapter of the STT Nursing Society, Deb influences our college in multiple ways to engage in empathy-building and fairness. Each student cohort of the AGACNP program works on a service project that benefits the community by engaging with local organizations on projects ranging from blanket-making to clothing drives to food distributions. Most recently, the students provided bagged lunches to Milwaukee’s Street Angels. The practice of having a cohort outreach project does several good things: building empathy within the students, broadening students’ understanding of the social determinants of health, and cultivating student leaders. She also demonstrates creativity in her assignments, such as implementing a mock-interview process for the last semester practicum for students in her program. As president of the local nursing society chapter, Deb also presents opportunities for the College of Nursing to engage in small community projects, like making Valentine’s cards for nursing home residents. Deb does not do these projects alone, but plays an integral part in connecting the students, faculty, and staff of our college to opportunities to care about others. She demonstrates leadership on campus by serving as an evaluator for CCNE and also helps organize a semi-annual pharmacology conference, which provides a low-cost means of gaining continuing education credit for MU preceptors and nurses in practice. Dr. Casper is well-respected by her colleagues and her community. She is an Extraordinary Nurse, DNP, and colleague who is highly deserving of this award.