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In the years in between, she has taught nursing, worked as a nurse/nurse practitioner in a hospital setting, earned three additional advanced degrees, witnessed the births of babies, assisted in hundreds of orthopedics surgeries, sutured countless lacerations, and written grants that helped the School of Nursing grow its programming.
Most importantly, she said, she learned the value of nurses in the lives of patients.
“It’s an honor when someone trusts you with something this important,” she said. “Whether it’s educating or taking care of a patient, it’s an honor to be trusted and respected enough to care for a life.”
On June 9, Hite will step into the role being vacated by Cheryl Giefer, a longtime faculty member in the school who once taught Hite. Giefer is returning to teaching in the final years of her career.
“I'm delighted that Dr. Hite will be our next director,” said Mary Carol Pomatto, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences who also was one of Hite’s teachers and was director prior to Giefer.
Pomatto, too, is stepping down later this year and returning to teaching.
“Amy is a visionary who values partnerships,” Pomatto said. “She has a strong record of local, state and national level accomplishments in teaching, scholarship, practice and service befitting PSU, the professions of nursing and higher education and our broader communities.”
“I am confident that she will build upon the legacy of student focus and excellence for which the Pittsburg State University IRBSON is known.”
Hite earned her Bachelor’s in Nursing from Pitt State in 1996, Master’s in Nursing from Pitt State in 2000, her Doctorate from the University of Kansas in 2011, and her Educational Specialist from Pitt State in 2019. This summer she will complete her Doctor of Education with a focus in Higher Education Leadership, from Lindenwood University.
Hite and her husband, Stu, met in college; he is the university police chief. Their daughter Grace is a senior pre-law major at Pitt State, and their son Grant is in high school and plans to attend Pitt State.
Hite has been teaching full time since 2004. Her experience also includes as a full-time nurse practitioner in orthopedics, as a nurse practitioner in the Bryant Student Health Center, and as a nurse practitioner in the Emergency Department at Ascension Via Christi Hospital and CHC/SEK Walk In Care.
Working as both a nurse and a faculty member during the Covid-19 Pandemic gave her valuable perspective, she said.
“I knew what nurses in the field were going through, because I was living it – I slept in the basement away from my family – and I knew that would be what our students starting clinicals would need to be prepared for as soon as we had enough PPE for them,” she said.
“Situations like those aren’t when you run away from health care – you run to it to help those who need it,” she added.
Pomatto said Hite also is an accomplished grant writer and grant manager. Her grants have helped Pitt State create a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program that expanded to numerous counties and the Nurse Practitioner Residency program which is funded through 2027 and now recruits nationally.
Hite said that the School of Nursing is on a great trajectory for continued success, thanks to the leadership of both Giefer and Pomatto and a solid team of faculty and staff.
“We all bring a different sense of expertise, what we teach, the practice areas we are in, and it’s an honor to be part of that team,” she said.
Learn more about the Irene Ransom Bradley School of Nursing.
