Driving Innovation and Compassion in Graduate Nursing Education
Anna Mangimela (DNP), Director of Graduate Nursing Programs at Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OKWU), is leading the way in creating accessible, innovative educational opportunities for working nurses. Since stepping into her role in January 2024, she has streamlined academic pathways, enhanced affordability, and prioritized personalized student support.
Innovatively Building on Strengths
Mangimela oversees OKWU’s fully online RN to BSN, MSN, and DNP programs, designed for licensed nurses advancing their education. She took over a program with a strong legacy, including OKWU’s undergraduate Nursing program, which boasts a 100% NCLEX pass rate. OKWU’s BSN and MSN program boasting top state rankings from RegisteredNursing.org.
One of her key accomplishments has been updating the RN to BSN program so it can now be completed in just one year. She also collaborated with campus leaders to reduce tuition to $299 per credit hour, increasing accessibility for working professionals. This required careful coordination to update internal systems and public-facing materials.
Developing Creative Partnerships
With the wholehearted support of the Provost and Associate Dean Rosa Ketchum (DNP), Mangimela has looked beyond OKWU’s campus to find additional creative ways of drawing students to OKWU’s graduate Nursing program. One exciting avenue for developing off-campus partnerships is through affiliation agreements. A notable example is an affiliation agreement with Hillcrest Hospital South, part of the Ardent Hospital System.
Building on relationships with Hillcrest staff like Shelly Bauer (DNP), Mangimela helped create a policy allowing nurses who hold a Practice Transition Accreditation Program (PTAP) certification to receive academic credit at OKWU. This benefit, launched in Fall 2025, is available to nurses who completed an AACN Vizient/Nurse Residency or ANCC PTAP.
Connecting with Students
Mangimela’s commitment goes beyond administration. She meets regularly with individual students and cohorts to address concerns and offer guidance. Her servant leadership style is widely recognized by colleagues and students alike. As a student in the DNP program, Angela Angel (DNP) appreciated Mangimela’s encouraging and empathetic nature as well as the way she also exemplifies the skills she teaches. Mangimela makes clear to her students that she wants them to go far beyond simply passing their classes; instead, she wants them to understand the reasons why they are learning the content.
As Ketchum says, a large part of Mangimela’s job lies in serving students in the MSN and DNP degree programs as chair of their project courses. These individual practicum courses ask each graduate Nursing student to implement a quality-improvement project in a healthcare setting. One example that Ketchum describes is a recent doctoral student who worked with Canadian race car drivers who had experienced head injuries. Ketchum observes that Mangimela’s background in living and working overseas—as well as her experience earning her MSN while abroad—gives her a special connection with students who are working on their degrees internationally.
P.J. Hopkins (DNP), Chief Nursing Officer and former student, highlighted the flexibility of OKWU’s fully online program and the dedicated support Mangimela provides. Despite her demanding schedule caring for a disabled spouse, Hopkins was able to complete her degree and appreciated Mangimela’s responsiveness and encouragement throughout the program. They later presented together at the Oklahoma Nurse Association convention, underscoring OKWU’s emphasis on professional development.
Mangimela describes herself as a “work horse” who can take care of details, and others note her nature as a servant leader, but she also notes the practical side of striving to serve OKWU’s students well on every level: graduates who have had a good experience at OKWU will keep coming back for additional degrees. She continually seeks ways to make her classes and the programs she oversees ever more effective and accessible, all in service of the working nurse professionals who care for the public daily.
Credit: Private University News and Products (PUNP)
