Marcia Hern, dean of Texas Woman’s University’s College of Nursing, has been selected dean of the University of Louisville School of Nursing.
Hern will assume the post on or before Oct. 1, pending approval by the School of Nursing faculty and UofL’s Board of Trustees.
“Educating future nurses and nurse educators is important to the future of Kentucky,” said UofL President James Ramsey. “We are thrilled to bring a seasoned leader in nursing education to the University of Louisville. Dr. Hern will be an outstanding leader for the school and the community.”
A clinical nurse specialist in pediatric nursing and professor of nursing, Hern holds an Ed.D. in educational administration with concentrations in nursing and business, and an MSN with a focus in parent-child nursing. Both are from the University of Cincinnati. She earned her BSN at the Ohio State University.
Prior to her tenure as dean at Texas Woman’s University, Hern was executive director of community outreach and development at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Nursing. Previously, she was professor and department chair of parent child nursing at UC, and she served as director of nursing at Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center’s division of developmental disabilities.
“The numerous pressures on our health care system make nursing a dynamic field that is essential to our ability to give patients the very best of care,” said Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Larry Cook.“Dr. Hern’s direct experience with these issues will help us take the School of Nursing to the next level.”
Hern’s research focuses on adolescent and youth health promotion and risk-taking behaviors, including genetic risk information and issues in nursing education and nursing leadership.
She has served as a program evaluator for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and is a member of the International Society of Nurses in Genetics. She also has served on the genetic nursing credentialing commission and is a member of several other professional organizations.
