A Rochester Power Player Championing Fundamental Care through Roberts Nursing
by Dr. AnneMarie Dowling-Castronovo
Dr. Annemarie Dowling-Castronovo
Wow! How humbling that the Rochester business and healthcare community recognized me as a Rochester Power Player.
This is beyond an individual professional achievement. It illustrates a powerful testament to the excellence of over 70 years of Nursing at Roberts Wesleyan University. This recognition highlights how the leadership of Roberts prayerfully discerned my appointment as Dean of our School of Nursing.
The past few years taught me the value of resilience, collaboration, and intergenerational connection in health care. As Dean of Nursing at Roberts, I lean into my Christian faith to stay grounded and lead with love, something that’s both vital and challenging in today’s world.
Our community is forging into the future to better influence the local healthcare landscape by underscoring Roberts' renewed commitment to academic rigor, community engagement, and transformative leadership.
The Rochester Power Players list celebrates individuals who drive innovation and make a tangible impact on the region. I believe my inclusion speaks to my decades-long dedication to nursing and my visionary leadership as Dean of the School of Nursing. My team and I focus on preparing the next generation of nurses to tackle modern healthcare's complex challenges while upholding compassionate, ethical values to ensure the delivery of evidence-based, fundamental care.
This recognition is particularly significant for Roberts Nursing because it showcases the quality of its programs and faculty. We are known for producing highly skilled and compassionate nurses, a direct reflection of curricula that build upon the liberal arts and sciences with nursing science that not only blends hands-on clinical learning but also integrates faith.
Our students learn to meet people where they are at.
Roberts Nurses are preparing for a future of healthcare extending beyond traditional boundaries. They are learning how the integration of AI and Machine Learning challenges individuals and systems to shift focus from simple efficiency to clinical decision support, allowing leaders to measure genuine patient outcomes. These outcomes need nursing input to measure metrics that truly matter, such as measuring relational aspects of care actions. I will continue to strengthen our partnerships that bring technology directly into patients' homes, and ensure this technology facilitates (not replaces) human connection consistent with the Fundamentals of Care Framework.
Together with faculty, staff, and students, we learn and grow together to embody intellectual, cultural, and spiritual humility. We challenge each other to effectively measure outcomes. It’s not enough to simply make a good decision; leaders must track and analyze their decisions to understand the actual impact on patient well-being. This focus on demonstrable results will drive truly patient-centered care.
As a nursing leader, I continue to examine my own perspectives on resilience and innovation. True innovation is rooted in collaboration and intergenerational connection. The pandemic demonstrated that siloed solutions don't work. Meaningful progress happens when people from all fields and generations unite. A commitment to teamwork is how I stay motivated in a demanding field, and I credit my personal sustainability to faith, family, and the collaborative spirit of the Rochester community.
Ultimately, this award is a powerful symbol of the synergy between Roberts Wesleyan University’s educational philosophy and the real-world impact of its graduates. I pray that this achievement signals out Roberts Nursing as THE Power Player at the forefront of my beloved Nursing profession, producing leaders prepared for today’s challenges and actively shaping a better, healthier future. It’s certainly a moment to pause and celebrate the enduring legacy of an institution committed to excellence and service.
Onward with hope,
-Annemarie Dowling-Castronovo
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About the author
Annemarie Dowling-Castronovo
Dr. Annemarie Dowling-Castronovo is a nationally recognized nurse educator and practitioner, board-certified in gerontological and palliative care. As dean of the School of Nursing at Roberts Wesleyan University, she leads a team committed to advancing whole-person care through Christ-centered education.
She brings over 20 years of clinical and academic leadership, including previous roles as department chair and chief academic nursing officer at Monmouth University. Her research on care for older adults has been published in top journals and honored by the National Academies of Practice.
Dowling-Castronovo holds degrees from the College of Staten Island, NYU, and Rutgers. She is passionate about preparing nurses to lead with competence, compassion, and courage.
About the author
Roberts Wesleyan University
As a community of learners committed to historic Christianity, Roberts Wesleyan University seeks to prepare thoughtful, spiritually mature, service-oriented people who will help transform society.
We are a private Christian university in Rochester, New York, offering over 80 undergraduate and graduate programs.
As the only NCAA Division II institution in the region and member of the East Coast Conference, Roberts is committed to academic excellence, spiritual formation, and competitive athletics.