From the Provost: Update on the Leadership of the College of Nursing

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff, 

Dr. Kristen Swanson, Dean of the College of Nursing, has notified me that she will retire from Seattle University at the end of Academic Year 2022-2023. 

I am grateful for Dean Swanson’s leadership of the College of Nursing. Since 2014, when she joined the College of Nursing, enrollments have grown from 553 to 734 undergraduate students and from 231 to 445 graduate students. In addition, the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program was developed and successfully launched, the Diagnostic Ultrasound programs joined the College of Nursing, the academic reputation and U.S. News & World Report rankings improved, education of nurse practitioners moved to the doctoral level, and the College demonstrated its excellence through the successful re-accreditation of the BSN, DNP, and midwifery programs. 

Dean Swanson completed her PhD at the University of Colorado School of Nursing where she recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award. She completed postdoctoral studies at the University of Washington where she remained on faculty for more than twenty years. Just prior to joining the Seattle University community, Dean Swanson served as Dean and Alumni Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing and Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Academic Affairs at University of North Carolina Hospitals. 

Dean Swanson has had an illustrious career as an educator, scientist, administrator, and consultant. Her scholarship and research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, focuses on caring, responses to miscarriage, and interventions to promote healing after early pregnancy loss. Dr. Swanson developed the “Swanson Theory of Caring” which is used as a model for practice, education, and research around the world. Dr. Swanson’s many honors and contributions include selection as a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow, service on the Board of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, chairing the Board of Trustees for the Swedish Health System, induction into the Washington State Nurses Association Hall of Fame, membership on the National Advisory Council for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars Program, and fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing. 

She is deeply committed to the care and success of students and has embedded our Jesuit values throughout the College of Nursing. During the height of COVID-19, Dean Swanson played a pivotal leadership role in establishing the Swedish Community COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic at Seattle University. Over 75,000 vaccinations were administered as part of the clinic with one-fifth of the volunteers affiliated with Seattle University. 

Over the coming year, I look forward to joining with our community to celebrate Dean Swanson’s many and lasting contributions to the university. 

I have appointed David Powers, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Bonnie Bowie, Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Professor of Nursing, as the co-chairs for the College of Nursing Dean Search Committee. I am grateful to Dean Powers and Associate Dean Bowie for their willingness to serve in this important leadership role in selecting the next Dean of the College of Nursing. I also want to extend my thanks to Maggie Ricketts, HR Director, who continues to provide valuable expertise in this process. 

I am pleased to announce the members of the College of Nursing Dean Search Committee: 

• David Powers, Co-Chair, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 
• Bonnie Bowie, Co-Chair, Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Professor, Nursing 
• Mirette Aziz, Director, Diagnostic Ultrasound 
• Marilyn Cope, Assistant Dean for Accreditation and Regulatory Compliance 
• Kimberly Ha, DNP Student 
• Roda Hassan, BSN Student 
• Suzan Knowles, Assistant Clinical Professor, Nursing 
• Ben Miller, Director of Adult Gerontology Acute Care Program and Associate Professor, Nursing 
• Robin Narruhn, Assistant Professor, Nursing 
• Renee Rassilyer-Bomers, Chief Nursing Officer Central Puget Sound and Chief Nursing Officer Cherry Hill, Swedish Hospital  
• Gayle Robinson, Assistant Professor, Nursing 
• Alvin Sturdivant, Vice Provost for Student Development 
• Ben White, Assistant Professor, Nursing 

I wish to thank the members of the search committee in advance for their service. We look forward to a successful search. 

Sincerely, 

Shane P. Martin
Provost