Associate Dean for Graduate Nursing Programs

Associate Dean for Graduate Nursing Programs

The University of Virginia School of Nursing, consistently recognized as one of the top schools in the country, seeks an experienced, mission-driven leader to serve as the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs (ADGP). The School of Nursing exists both as part of the University's academic core and part of UVA Health. Along with other Associate Deans within the School, the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs serves on the senior leadership team reporting directly to the Dean, who conducts an annual review of the Associate Dean's administrative performance.

This team collaborates with the Dean to create, implement, and evaluate School of Nursing strategic initiatives and to facilitate the School's teaching, research, practice, and service missions. The position's primary focus is the direction of the School of Nursing's graduate programs, which are comprised of Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), direct-entry Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL), and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP).

As a leader who contributes to a healthy work environment, the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs supports a scholarship intensive environment (in collaboration with the Associate Dean for Nursing Research), promotes faculty development, and advocates for the instructional mission. This position has a 50% administrative role which can be negotiated based on the needs of the school in a given year.

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. The School's trajectory is shaped by ambition as much as heritage.

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: transforming educational offerings, deepening community and health system partnerships, elevating nursing science from discovery to translation, and 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 Role and Responsibilities

• 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…