Distinguished Alumnus:
Cheryl L. Beck '70
BS, Nursing
Cheryl Tatano Beck, DNSc, CNM, FAAN, is a professor at the University of Connecticut’s School of Nursing. She earned her B.S. in Nursing is from Western Connecticut State University in 1970, her Master's degree in maternal newborn nursing from Yale University and her Doctor of Nursing Science degree from Boston University. Beck is a certified nurse-midwife. She received her certificate in nurse mid-wifery also from Yale University. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and has received numerous awards such as the Eastern Nursing Research Society’s Distinguished Researcher Award, the Distinguished Alumna Award from Yale University and the Connecticut Nurse’s Association Diamond Jubilee Award for her contribution to nursing research.
Beck has been a member of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) since 1984. She was a past member of the editorial board for the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing and currently serves on the editorial boards of Advances in Nursing Science and Journal of Nursing Education. She has been a member of the Board of Trustees of Depression After Delivery-National and currently is on the Executive Board of the Marce Society.
Over the past 15 years, Beck has focused on developing a research program
on postpartum depression. She has extensively researched this devastating
mood disorder that plagues new mothers using both qualitative and
quantitative research methods. Based on the findings from her series of
qualitative studies, Beck has developed the Postpartum Depression Screening
Scale (PDSS). Western Psychological Services published this new instrument
in February 2002. She is a prolific writer who has published over 90 journal
articles on such topics as postpartum depression, postpartum onset panic
disorder, phenomenology, grounded theory, meta-analysis instrument
development, meta-synthesis, and caring in nursing education. Currently,
Beck’s research efforts are focused on developing and testing a Spanish
version of her Postpartum Depression Screening Scale.
