DEAN’S LETTER

After 15 years at UC College of Nursing, serving as professor, program director, and associate dean for research, I was honored to be chosen to serve as the new interim dean last summer. Given that I haven’t been in this position for long, an introduction is likely helpful.

I have been a registered nurse for 27 years and worked in emergency, public health and academic settings. My research, focused on workplace violence against health care workers, has been funded by the CDC-National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, American Nurses Foundation and Emergency Nurses Association Foundation.

My strong commitment to professional service led me to serve as chapter president for the Greater Cincinnati Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), as the state president for the Ohio ENA, as chair for the Nursing Research Grants Program with the American Nurses Foundation, national director for ENA, and trustee for the ENA Foundation, among others. I have also served as a volunteer public health nurse for 12 years.

My first step after assuming the role of interim dean was to initiate a collegewide assessment, starting with listening sessions with college staff members, followed by students and faculty members. These sessions, coupled with existing information from college and faculty governance, helped me shape the college’s strategic focus for my tenure as interim dean, which I named “Nursing POPS!”. POPS! stands for partnerships, opportunities, performance and support. A purposeful focus on diversity, equity and inclusion is embedded within each of the priorities. An update on each of these elements is included in this annual report, which I am proud to share.

Vision

Through

I’m excited about the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, as both strengthen our college’s commitment to preparing nurse leaders who are ready to provide care to an increasingly diverse population in an ever changing and complex health care system.

Sincerely,

Gordon Lee Gillespie, PhD, DNP, RN, CEN, CNE, CPEN, PHCNS-BC, ANEF, FAEN, FAAN Interim Dean