The University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana Names New ARNEC Division Chair

Dr. Josephine Kahler of Texarkana, Texas, has been named the Division Chair of the Arkansas Rural Nursing Education Consortium (ARNEC) LPN/LVN-to-RN transition program at the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana. 

Dr. Kahler received a Basic Nursing Diploma from Christchurch Hospital in New Zealand, a Bachelor of Arts in Nursing from the University of South Dakota, a Master of Science in Nursing from South Dakota State University, and a Ph.D. in Education Administration from the University of South Dakota.

Before joining the team at U of A Hope-Texarkana, Josephine served as the Dean of the School of Health Sciences at the University of Charleston in West Virginia.  While at the University of Charleston she helped raise funds and lay the groundwork for accreditation to begin a new Physician’s Assistant program, secured grant funding to begin a new online RN to BSN transition program, and worked to secure re-accreditation for the BSN, sonography, occupational therapy, and radiology programs.  Previous to working at the University of Charleston, Dr. Kahler served as the Dean of the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences at Texas A&M University-Texarkana for twelve years.

Dr. Kahler stated, “I am excited about working with U of A Hope-Texarkana to prepare future nurses to serve the Texarkana and Hope communities and our region.  The ARNEC and LPN programs that the college provides are second-to-none and we plan to ensure our nurses are the best.”

ARNEC is a co-operative effort of eight two-year colleges joined together to offer the program.  The 12-month program combines classroom instruction with clinical experiences and is designed to meet the needs of working LPN’s, LPTN’s, or LVN’s and meets the requirements of the Arkansas State Board of Nursing.  Graduates of the program receive an Associate of Applied Science degree which prepares them to take the NCLEX-RN (Registered Nurse licensing examination).  The transition program courses are offered via a new and innovative approach using real-time interactive web technology.  Interested students should contact an advisor today to enroll in any needed pre-requisite courses.

For more information please visit www.arnec.org or call the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana at 870-722-8289.