Major in Nursing

Mrs. Janet Gardner began her nursing career 21 years ago as a pediatric nurse in a children’s hospital in Utah. Her acute care nursing years were primarily spent in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and nursery areas caring for mothers and their babies. She began teaching Community Health about 6 years ago and this led her to discover a love for educating new nurses. She completed her Master’s Degree in Nursing Education at the University of Arkansas 20 years after receiving her BSN, showing it is never too late to pursue your dreams. She joined the faculty of John Brown University in May of 2017. Her passion is to encourage nursing students to find a way to connect to their patients in all interactions. If it is a baby in the NICU or a homeless person at the shelter, she believes we have the privilege of being the hands and feet of God through our calling as nurses. She strives to show this in all she does in the classroom and clinical settings. She is honored to be able to openly express the connection between nursing and our relationship with the Lord as a professor at JBU.

Mrs. Gardner has been married to her husband Kent for 17 years and has 3 children: Max, Zachary and Samantha. In between transporting her boys to and from the golf course and her daughter to Girl Scouts and choir, she enjoys experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen and spending time outdoors in Northwest Arkansas.

Dr. Ellen Odell received her Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Case Western Reserve in 2008; she received her MSN from George Mason University in 1992. She holds an Arkansas license as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and has over 30 years of experience in nursing, with the past 20 years primarily in nursing education. Dr. Odell has previous experience as a program director, as well as both undergraduate and graduate teaching. She began working with John Brown University (JBU) in 2013 as a consultant for their proposed BSN program and began full time as program director in 2014.

Because of her dedication and drive, JBU has a state-of the-art fully accredited nursing program. She is highly esteemed by her students as Jacqueline Craddock ’18 says,

“Dr. Odell’s dedication to this program and her students is unsurpassed. Her vast knowledge, approachable attitude, and personal faith radiates from her life both in the classroom and personally. Her office door is always open and I have personally seen her burn the “midnight oil” on several occasions. Yet, no matter the time of day, she is always available. She goes above and beyond what most can only dream of doing.”

Dr. Odell often opens her home to students to relax poolside or attend a Super Bowl party featuring some of her delectable cupcake creations.  She has been married to her husband, Dan, for 34 years, and they have three grown daughters.

Mrs. Deana Reinhardt began her career as a Certified Nursing Assistant in a local Emergency Department (ED) in Northwest Arkansas in 1995.  While working full-time in the ED, she attended Northwest Arkansas Community College where she graduated with her Associate Degree in Nursing.   She has had various roles as an RN in the ED and hospital setting for over 20 years.  In 2017, she earned her M.S. in Nursing through Regis University’s RN to MSN program and soon began teaching at John Brown University.

In the position of Clinical Educator, Mrs. Reinhardt realized how much she enjoyed teaching others and wanted to expand her teaching role.  She taught various American Heart Association and Emergency Nurses Association courses hospital wide that directly relate to emergency medicine and trauma care.  Her desire is to create a learning environment that supports and encourages the various learning styles of students.  She believes she has been called by God to teach in an academic setting that supports the growth and equipping of nursing students. Romans 12: 6-7 says, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them:  if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching.”