Sympathy to the Family and Former Colleagues of Deborah Persell, Emeritus Professor
JONESBORO – The university community extends sympathy to the family, friends and former colleagues of Dr. Deborah Persell, emeritus professor of nursing, who died last week.
Persell served as a member of the Arkansas State University faculty for 17 years, from 2001 until 2018.
Founder of the disaster preparedness and emergency management program, Persell came to A-State in 2001. Her teaching expertise focused on pediatric nursing. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, she identified a need for emergency management education in the state of Arkansas and the NEA region. This led to the establishment of the multidisciplinary minor in homeland security and emergency preparedness in 2006. In 2011 she founded the disaster preparedness and emergency management program which included the Associate of Applied Science in DPEM, the Bachelor of Science in DPEM, and the Master of Science in DPEM.
Survivors include her husband Dave Persell, two children, and four grandchildren.
A family-directed celebration of life will be held Saturday May 10, at First Baptist Church, Milton, Fla., with visitation 10-11 a.m. and service at 11 a.m. The complete obituary is online.
