SONHP Embarks on Strategic Planning for 2013-2018

The School of Nursing and Health Professions has been growing at warp speed in the past seven years under the leadership of Dean Judith Karshmer, Associate Dean Patricia Lynch and Assistant Dean Mary Kate Wood. Dr. Wanda Borges joined us in June 2013 as the Associate Dean of Graduate Programs and Community Partnerships, with Dr. Patricia Lynch continuing as Associate Dean of Pre-licensure Programs.

We have not only increased the number of students in our programs from 600 in 2006 to 1300 in 2013, we have also added other health professions to our school.  In addition to our Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Masters Entry option for people with bachelors degrees in other fields, our graduate programs include RN to MSN-Clinical Nurse Leader, Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), DNP-Family Nurse Practitioner, DNP-Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Executive Leader DNP; as well as Master of Public Health, Doctorate of Clinical Psychology (PsyD) and Masters of Behavioral Health.  Starting in Spring 2014 we will be adding a Masters of Science in Health Informatics, a Masters of Science in Health Care Simulation and a Bachelors of Science in Health Services.

Of course we have also added faculty to teach in all these programs and have increased numbers of faculty from 28 in 2006 to 42 in 2013, with staff supporting them increased from 8 in 2006 to 22 in 2013.  As you may imagine, the structure of the SONHP organization needs to change in order to fully integrate these diverse programs into a functional unit. The SONHP has embarked on a strategic planning process led by Dean Karshmer with faculty and staff working in groups to provide direction with a target completion date of December 2. Stay tuned for more updates about the outcomes of the plan.

Original publish date October 30, 2013