President Barbara R. Snyder announced today that a double alumna of the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing will become its next dean.
Carol M. Musil, interim dean at the nursing school since August and the Marvin E. and Ruth Durr Denekas Professor of Nursing, succeeds Mary E. Kerr, who stepped down last June. Musil’s appointment is pending Board of Trustees approval.
“As we begin a new chapter of health education at Case Western Reserve,” President Barbara R. Snyder said, “Carol combines a wealth of institutional knowledge and relationships with a deep commitment to preparing nurses to thrive in a rapidly evolving patient care environment.”
Late last month, the school’s faculty and staff began moving their educational programs to the Health Education Campus (HEC), a collaboration between the university and Cleveland Clinic. The campus’s 477,000-square-foot Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion includes students from the university’s nursing, dental and medical schools, including Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.
Musil brings four decades of experience at the school as a student, researcher and faculty member–including the more than four years that the HEC has been in development. As interim dean during this academic year, she helped shepherd the school’s physical transition to the new space, as well as joint efforts among all of the school leaders to advance interprofessional education.
“Carol demonstrated great insight and agility in stepping into a change process already well underway,” Provost Ben Vinson III said. “She has contributed significantly to our discussions about how to realize the enormous potential that this new campus offers, even as she helped her own school navigate the inevitable challenges that come with change of this magnitude.”
Musil’s first experiences at the nursing school came when she pursued a master’s degree in the 1970s. She maintained her ties to the school as a clinical instructor and then doctoral student even as she spent time working at several area hospitals. She joined the faculty in 1994, and has focused much of her research on the elderly—in particular the effects of caring for grandchildren on their physical and psychological health. She has served as a reviewer for a large number of federal research grant programs, worked internationally and became a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2005.
“I am honored and thrilled to have this opportunity to serve as your permanent dean,” Musil told her colleagues Friday after the president and provost announced her appointment. “I think we are poised to build an exceptional future together, advancing both the School of Nursing and interprofessional research, education and practice.”
In addition to her service to the nursing school, Musil has long been active on university-wide groups. She first joined the Faculty Senate for a three-year term in 1996, and chaired its research committee from 2004 to 2008. She chaired the group during the 2009-10 academic year.