Dr. McElheny is the founding Dean for the School of Nursing. She came to CIU from Colorado Christian University where she served as the director of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and Professor of Nursing. Dr. McElheny has over 28 years of clinical experience as a nurse and as a nurse practitioner in a variety of different settings. She is board-certified as both a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and as an Emergency Nurse Practitioner. She considers nursing a calling and a ministry to others, and she enjoys sharing her faith with students. For the last 13 years, Dr. McElheny has served with Samaritan’s Purse International Relief on the medical Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and as a medical transporter with the Children’s Heart Project where she has served in many countries around the world. She expresses a deep desire to lead CIU nursing students to serve as the hands and feet of Christ as they care for patients.

Education 

• Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) — University of Colorado
• Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) — Medical University of South Carolina
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) — Medical University of South Carolina
• Bachelor of Arts in History (BA) — Furman University

Certifications

• Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (CPNP) — Pediatric Nursing Certification Board
• Emergency Nurse Practitioner (ENP-BC) — American Nursing Credentialing Center
• Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) — National League of Nursing

Publications

• McElheny, J. (2019). Review of Unplanned by A. Johnson. CCU Review of Books, Culture, and Life.
• McElheny, J. (2019). The role of the nurse in disaster response. In K. Mauk & M. Hobus (Eds.), Nursing as Ministry. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
• McElheny, J. (2023). Best practices in short-term medical mission. In Smither, E. & Udall, J. (Eds.), Mission in Praise, Word, and Deed: Reflections on the Past and Future of Global Mission. William Carey Publishing.