Search committee to select new UF College of Nursing dean

The search committee to select the next dean of the University of Florida College of Nursing has been formed.

David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., UF’s senior vice president for health affairs and president of the UF&Shands Health System, met with the committee Sept. 11 to outline his criteria for the next nursing dean, who will replace Kathleen Ann Long, Ph.D., R.N., following her retirement at the end of the 2013 academic year.

Committee members were charged with finding a candidate who will build upon the strong foundation of excellence in the college’s educational programs while developing new models of clinical practice and advancing the college’s research program.

“This search is enormously significant to the Health Science Center and to the entire University of Florida because of the crucial role that nursing plays in meeting the health care needs of the state and the nation,” said Michael Perri, Ph.D., dean of UF’s College of Public Health and Health Professions and committee chair.

The committee aims to have a candidate selected during the 2013 spring semester.

“Dean Long leaves the College of Nursing poised for growth and ready for a new dean to seize opportunities that lie ahead,” Guzick said. “This deanship is a remarkable opportunity for a leader attracted to an excellent faculty and student body, outstanding facilities and numerous multidisciplinary collaborations within the health system and academic community.”

Other committee members include:

• Linda Aiken, Ph.D., R.N., director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research and the Claire M. Fagin Leadership Professor of Nursing, Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania;
• Irene Alexaitis, M.S.N., R.N., UF&Shands chief nursing officer and vice president of nursing and patient services;
• Diane Beck, Pharm.D., associate dean for curricular affairs and accreditation and a clinical professor in the UF College of Pharmacy;
• Maureen Conroy, Ph.D., associate director of the Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies and a professor in the UF College of Education;
• Linda B. Cottler, Ph.D., M.P.H., a dean’s professor and chair of the department of epidemiology in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions and UF College of Medicine;
• David Derrico, M.S.N., R.N., a clinical assistant professor of adult and elderly nursing in the UF College of Nursing;
• Jennifer Elder, Ph.D., R.N., a professor and associate dean for research in the UF College of Nursing;
• Joseph C. Fantone III, M.D., senior associate dean for educational affairs in the UF College of Medicine;
• Reginald F. Frye, Ph.D., Pharm.D., a professor and chair of the department of pharmacotherapy and translational research in the UF College of Pharmacy;
• Jane M. Gannon, D.N.P., C.N.M., C.N.L., a clinical assistant professor in the UF College of Nursing and president of its faculty organization;
• Edward Jimenez, M.B.A., senior vice president and chief operating officer of Shands at the University of Florida and an affiliate clinical associate professor in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions;
• Mark Henry Lewis, Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry and assistant chair of research in the UF College of Medicine;
• Joyce K. Stechmiller, Ph.D., A.C.N.P, an associate professor and chair of the department of adult and elderly nursing in the UF College of Nursing;
• Scott Tomar, D.M.D., Dr.PH., a professor and chair of the department of community dentistry and behavioral science in the UF College of Dentistry;
• Bethany Triplett, an undergraduate nursing student and president of the UF Nursing Student Association;
• LeAnne Whitlow, M.S., R.N., associate director of the nursing service with the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System.

For more information about the committee, visit http://deansearch.nursing.ufl.edu.