Three long-time Decker nursing faculty members set to retire

Binghamton University’s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences celebrated the careers of nursing faculty members Professor A. Serdar Atav, Associate Professor Mary Muscari and Associate Professor Rosa Darling with a retirement reception April 18 in the Anderson Center President’s Reception Room.

Atav, Muscari and Darling made deep and enduring contributions at Binghamton University. The three officially retire in September and will continue serving the University as Bartle professors.

A. Serdar Atav, MS ’85, PhD ’90

A. Serdar Atav is retiring after 37 years with the University. He completed his master’s and doctoral degrees in political science and government from Binghamton’s Harpur College of Arts and Sciences in 1985 and 1990, respectively. Before that, he obtained bachelor’s degrees in political science and business administration from Bogaziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey.

Atav joined Binghamton in 1982 as a teaching and research assistant in Harpur’s Political Science Department. He became an instructor in 1985 and a lecturer for the School of Nursing a year later. (The School of Nursing would become the Decker School of Nursing in 1989 and then Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences in 2019.) He was promoted to assistant professor in 1994, associate professor in 2001 and professor in 2015. He also held administrative and leadership roles in the Robert L. Kresge Center for Nursing Research for several years.

Atav has focused his research on health promotion and disease prevention, particularly concerning vulnerable populations and public health policy. He has led or participated in research throughout his career, garnering over $7.7 million in funding. He has also published numerous publications, given presentations, worked on grants and consulted on projects that reflect his focus on vulnerable populations and his expertise in policy, quantitative methods, evaluation and data analysis.

In 2002, Atav was awarded the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Most recently, he has taught in the graduate programs for Decker’s nursing and public health divisions.

Mary Muscari

After 16 years, Mary Muscari, an associate professor in Decker’s Division of Nursing, is retiring. She holds a diploma as a registered nurse from Cochran School of Nursing. She also completed her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Pace University along with a master’s degree in pediatric nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree in criminology from Regis University, a post-masters certificate in psychiatric nursing from Adelphi University and a post-masters certificate in forensic nursing from Duquesne University. She also holds a doctorate in nursing from Adelphi.

Muscari is nationally recognized as a pediatric nurse practitioner, psychiatric clinical specialist and forensic nursing clinical specialist. She has over 40 years of experience working with forensic clients, including adult and pediatric victims and perpetrators. Additionally, she has been a consulting criminologist for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for more than 18 years.

At Decker College, Muscari has coordinated the undergraduate minor and graduate certificate programs in forensic health and taught courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Muscari has published over 150 publications, including books like “Everything Parents Guide to Raising Adolescent Girls,” “Everything Parents Guide to Raising Adolescent Boys,” “Let Kids be Kids: Rescuing Childhood,” “Not My Kid: 21 Steps to Raising a Non-Violent Kid” and “Not My Kid 2: Protecting Your Children from the 21 Threats of the 21st Century.”

She has also authored articles in Pediatric Nursing Review, “Quick Reference to Child and Adolescent Forensics,” “Quick Reference to Adult and Older Adult Forensics” (an AJN Book of the Year Winner) and “Child Behavioral and Parenting Challenges for Advanced Practice Nurses.”

Rosa Darling ’07, MS ’09, PhD ’10

Rosa Darling, an associate professor of nursing, is retiring after 14 years. She is a three-time alumna of Decker, having earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2007, a master’s degree in family nursing in 2009 and a PhD in nursing in 2010. She also holds an associate degree in nursing from SUNY Broome Community College and a bachelor of religious education from Clarks Summit University.

Darling has vast clinical expertise in telemetry and neonatal intensive care nursing. She has also worked in administrative roles as a supervisor in various hospitals and holds national certification in neonatal intensive care nursing. She has taught in undergraduate and graduate nursing programs in person and online at Decker College. Her focus has been pathophysiology, quantitative research, and online course design and implementation.

At Decker, Darling’s research has focused on simulation in nursing education, neonatal care, maternal child healthcare, population health and obesity.