Associate Dean Graduate Nursing Programs

University of Virginia: UVA Provost's Office:
School of Nursing About the School of Nursing

Founded in 1901, the University of Virginia School of Nursing is one of 12 distinct schools within the University; situated on grounds adjacent to the University Medical Center and School of Medicine, the School of Nursing is also an integral part of UVA Health. This placement at the heart of one of the nation's premier academic medical centers reflects the School's conviction that exceptional nursing education and exceptional clinical practice are inextricably linked.

Consistently ranked among the top public nursing schools in the country, the School offers undergraduate and graduate pathways from the BSN through the PhD and is recognized nationally for its commitment to interprofessional collaboration, compassionate evidence-based care, and the preparation of nurses and nurse leaders who improve health across Virginia and beyond.

Under Dean Marianne Baernholdt, the Pew Charitable Trusts Dean and Dean of Professional Nursing at UVA Health, the School has developed a ten‑year strategic plan,
Our Extraordinary Future:
Inspiring Excellence, Advancing Health
, co‑created with faculty and staff and aligned with UVA Health's and UVA's own long‑range visions. The plan advances four priorities:
1) transforming educational offerings, which the ADGP is helping lead;
2) deepening community and health system partnerships;
3) elevating nursing science from discovery to translation; and
4) cultivating trust and equity across all dimensions of School life. A growing research portfolio, robust scholarship support for students, and a culture that prizes belonging and continuous learning give the School of Nursing both the foundation and the forward momentum to realize those goals.

The Associate Dean for Graduate Programs provides strategic and operational leadership for the School of Nursing's graduate academic enterprise, overseeing a diverse portfolio of programs that spans MSN (including the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) degree), DNP, and post‑professional certificates. Working collaboratively with fellow associate deans, department chairs, program and specialty leads, and key university and health system partners, the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs ensures graduate offerings remain academically excellent, professionally relevant, and aligned with the School's long‑range vision.

The School of Nursing seeks an educator and scholar who can simultaneously steward program quality, cultivate meaningful clinical and academic partnerships, and contribute to the School’s strategic direction.

• Provide leadership for the direction and development of the School's MSN and DNP programs and initiatives, forecasting future trends in graduate nursing education using market analysis principles to ensure innovative educational strategies are implemented.
• In collaboration with senior leadership, foster partnerships with internal and external stakeholders to optimize programmatic efficiencies.
• Cultivate academic partnerships with clinical sites to advance student learning excellence.
• Analyze environmental data, trends, and licensure, certification, and accreditation advances that impact graduate education and practice, disseminate findings to all in a consistent and actionable manner, and identify performance and opportunity gaps related to the teaching mission; develop system‑level plans to address such gaps within the MSN and DNP programs.
• Develop and maintain the School’s systematic plan for evaluation of the MSN and DNP programs, with operational oversight, data management processes, reporting structures, and timelines established by the Associate Dean for Academic Operations.
• Support review and dissemination of relevant program data, in collaboration with the ADAO team, to faculty teaching in the MSN and DNP programs.
• Serve as a resource and advisor on academic issues for students, faculty, department chairs, program leads, specialty leads, course clinical coordinators, and other university personnel and stakeholders.
• Support regional, Commonwealth of Virginia, and specialty…