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Dustin Luca
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SALEM, MASS. – After 23 years of service at Salem State University, Professor Anne M. DeFelippo is retiring from the School of Nursing. She does so having dedicated her career to the very field that first inspired her as a child—leaving behind a legacy rooted in compassion, scholarship, and the transformative power of nursing.
A psychiatric nurse, educator, scholar, and mentor, DeFelippo’s career reflects both intellectual rigor and deep human compassion, grounded in a belief that mental health care and higher education are essential tools for justice.
Her introduction to the world of nursing came early, however, and from home.
“My mother was a nurse. She was supervisor of the nursery in a local hospital during World War II,” DeFelippo recalled. “She took care of me when I had my tonsils removed. Her close friend Ann Nolan, also a nurse, was also with me for my surgery and had the most reassuring manner conveyed through her voice. I felt so safe—I knew, from that time, that I wanted to be a nurse.”
DeFelippo’s career would not follow a conventional route. A magma cum laude graduate of Boston College’s nursing program, she earned a master’s at Yale and later pursued a law degree to better prevent malpractice and out of an interest in criminal law. That was followed by a doctorate in higher education administration, which she completed at UMass Boston’s Graduate School of Education with cum laude honors.
Salem State entered DeFelippo’s life almost by chance. In 2002, returning to bedside nursing and considering a nurse practitioner program, she contacted the School of Nursing to learn more about a graduate class. A faculty member who picked up the phone heard something more, however: a future colleague. She was invited to apply for a faculty position in mental health nursing.
“The rest is history,” she said.
From her first years in the classroom to her final keynote at the 2025 nursing convocation and pinning ceremony, DeFelippo has shaped generations of Salem State students. She co-founded the nursing peer tutoring program in 2008 to support retention and student leadership, and she taught courses across disciplines, including a first-year seminar on longevity and a health disparities course that will continue after her retirement.
“I believe in the power of mental health nurses to reduce stigma and save lives,” DeFelippo said. “It was an honor and a privilege to teach my field of nursing—one that I firmly believe makes a difference in the world.”
DeFelippo was honored alongside several retiring colleagues at a recent retirement celebration held at Salem State University. It was there that Sami Ansari, dean of the Maguire Meservey College of Health and Human Services, described her as “a committed scholar and frequent presenter,” one whose “research spans diverse topics—sports and scholarship, faculty vitality, mentoring, and social justice as a learning outcome.”
Looking ahead, DeFelippo said it’s “definitely time for me to develop beyond my faculty role. In my next chapter, I plan to continue research on university faculty and to write and publish nursing articles. I’ll also attempt to publish some of my creative writing, and music and dance are both interests that I can resume again.”
As she does that, DeFelippo’s spirit and energy will live on at Salem State University, where she will be sorely missed.
“We will miss her wisdom, leadership, and dedication—but most of all, I’ll miss our frequent and long conversations in the faculty parking lot,” Ansari said. “Anne, thank you for your exceptional service and your unwavering commitment to our students and faculty. We wish you joy, health, and adventure in this exciting new stage of life.”
