The colleagues of nursing professor Donna Munroe, who died last week, are remembering her as well-liked and involved at NIU and in DeKalb.

Munroe died at a Jan. 12 University Council committee meeting, according to an NIU Today news release. Munroe, who had been at NIU since 2001, earned awards for her service, including the spring 2013 Fisher Award for Excellence in Service. In addition to her role as professor, Munroe worked at Kishwaukee Community Hospital.

“She was very well-liked by faculty and students,” said Jan Strom, chair of the School of Nursing and Health Studies. “The faculty are shocked at her passing … and her students always looked forward to taking classes with her, and students are also saddened … by Donna’s passing.”

Munroe taught Nursing 432, 643 and 616 in the fall and was scheduled to teach three spring courses, Strom said; faculty will take over those courses.

Strom said Munroe’s work at NIU went beyond teaching, as she participated in research and university committees and faculty governance.

“Donna was a good thinker, an excellent teacher and researcher and an excellent mentor and colleague,” Strom said.

Beverly Henry, associate dean for academic affairs of the college of Health and Human Sciences, said she will always remember Munroe’s positive attitude and how she was always prepared, as well as how devoted she was to her family.

“She was well-regarded in every arena; she worked in the healthcare community of the DeKalb area, and then she enjoyed teaching students in the undergraduate and graduate programs, and then she was very much appreciated by faculty and staff as a committee member,” Henry said. “That’s where people outside of nursing would really encounter her … She was well-regarded across the college and across the university.”

Munroe’s opinions were highly valued, said James Ciesla, associate dean for research and resources of the college of Health and Human Sciences.

“I think that she was just … she spoke with great purpose,” Ciesla said.