Kris earned her BSN and MSN degrees from Northern Illinois University in 1976 and 1984.  She first worked at Rush Medical Center in Chicago, IL.  She chose “Rush” because of its primary care nursing model which was very innovative at that time.  Luther Christman was then Dean of the Rush College of Nursing and later as a nurse recruiter, Kris had an opportunity to meet with him in order to achieve his goal of having B.S.N. prepared nurses employed at the medical center.  As a nurse recruiter, Kris had the opportunity to travel throughout the United States visiting a variety of baccalaureate programs.  After leaving Rush, Kris worked as a public health nurse and also as a home care supervisor. Later, she became a nursing instructor at the College of DuPage’s associate degree program. Kris moved to Kentucky where she worked as an adjunct clinical instructor for Northern Kentucky University. Later she accepted a position as an education specialist at Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center.  She gained experience with continuing education program planning, nursing grand rounds, patient education materials and orientation.  She introduced project management education to the medical center. Kris was then hired fulltime at NKU where she taught in the BSN, RN to BSN, Accelerated BSN, and MSN programs.  She was promoted from assistant professor to associate professor when she earned tenure. While at NKU, Kris played a key role to collaborate in the development of the Nurse Advocacy Center for the Underserved (NACU).  Realizing that there was a lack of access to health care services for people living in poverty, a series of nurse clinics was established. While serving as NACU’s director, Kris was invited by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to develop an educational program about NACU’s history and service model.

Kristine E. Pfendt research interests include Forensic Nursing, Community Health Nursing,Public Health, Professional Nursing Practice and Nursing Leadership.