President Barbara R. Snyder and Provost Ben Vinson III announced today that Carol M. Musil will serve as interim dean of the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing for the 2018–19 academic year. A double alumna and longtime faculty member of the nursing school, Musil also is a former chair of the university’s Faculty Senate.
“Carol has demonstrated exceptional leadership in multiple roles at the university and Frances Payne Bolton,” President Snyder said. “We deeply appreciate her willingness to contribute her talents and skills yet again to support the school during this time of transition.”
Dean Mary E. Kerr will complete her term as dean this Friday, Aug. 31. During her last year, the school had two of its major graduate programs—Doctor of Nursing Practice and Master of Science in Nursing—ranked in the top 10 (fifth and sixth, respectively) in U.S. News & World Report’s rankings, and three specialty programs in the top 15. The school’s research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), meanwhile, was seventh-highest among the nation’s more than 2,000 nursing schools.
“This year’s rankings are a source of pride for all of us,” Musil said, “but even more important are what they represent: excellence in teaching and research. Our graduates are renowned for achieving significant leadership roles across the profession, and our discoveries provide important insights for advancing patient care—and for improving the health of citizens across the region and country.”
The university will launch a new search for the school’s next dean in September. Its search committee co-chairs will be Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences Dean Grover “Cleve” Gilmore and Distinguished University Professor Shirley Moore from nursing. A member of the School of Nursing’s faculty since 1992 and its associate dean for research since 2001, Moore originally planned to retire this year. Also a triple alumna, she postponed that departure to help recruit Kerr’s successor.
This dean search will be the first for Provost and Executive Vice President Ben Vinson III, who started his position July 1.
“I would be overjoyed to have a faculty leader as accomplished and nationally renowned as Shirley co-chair a nursing search under any circumstances,” Vinson said, “but as a new provost, I am particularly grateful to have her bring her extensive knowledge and insights about the school to this process.
“I also want to acknowledge the enormous value of Cleve’s leadership throughout this process. As dean of our school of social work since 2002 and a former Faculty Senate chair, he brings experience and perspective that beautifully complements Shirley’s. I feel extremely fortunate to have these two individuals co-chair this search.”