UofL School of Nursing names new Endowed Chair and Professor
Barbara Polivka, PhD, RN, program director of nursing and health systems management and associate professor at The Ohio State University College of Nursing, has been named the Shirley B. Powers Endowed Chair and Professor at the University of Louisville School of Nursing, effective August 1.
“We are building our research engine through the recruitment of experienced nurse scientist faculty who will help change practice,” said Marcia J. Hern, EdD, CNS, RN. “Barbara’s clinical specialty area is community health and her research focus is risk reduction, particularly related to children and lead poisoning.
“The search committee, chaired by Vicki Hines Martin, PhD, CNS, RN, FAAN, with Celeste Shawler, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, and Judy Schreiber, PhD, RN, along with the faculty, staff and doctoral students who participated in the interview process, evaluated an exceptional pool of candidates.”
Polivka received her doctorate degree in nursing from The Ohio State University, and joined the OSU College of Nursing faculty in 1984. She has authored or co-authored more than 65 peer-reviewed academic publications, and presented or lectured at more than100 conferences. She is a recipient of funding from the National Institute of Nursing Research, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the state of Ohio, and private foundations.
She served on the review panel for the Centers for Disease Control Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response for Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Centers. She is a founding member of the Nurses Environmental Advocacy Team of Ohio (NEATO) and a member of Research Association for Public Health Improvement (RAPHI), Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (AHNE), Association of Community Health Nurse Educators, Ohio Public Health Association, American Nurses Association, American Public Health Association, Midwest Nursing Research Society and Sigma Theta Tau –Epsilon Chapter.
Polivka sits on the editorial board of ISRN Public Health and the Journal of Hospital Administration and recently served as a reviewer for Journal of Advanced Nursing, Research in Nursing and Health, Public Health Nursing, Nursing Research, Journal of School Nursing, Journal of Immigrant Health, and Social Science and Medicine.
