SIUE's Harrison named School of Nursing associate dean

EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing (SON) Dean Laura Bernaix, PhD, RN, has selected Roberta Harrison, PhD, RN as associate dean for academic programs and community/global partnerships.

Harrison, who assumed her new responsibilities on June 1, has served as assistant dean for undergraduate programs since 2012 and as a member of the nursing faculty since 2006. She is an associate professor in the Department of Primary Care and Health Systems Nursing.

“Roberta’s energy, creativity and love for nursing will be great assets to the School of Nursing in this new role,” said Bernaix. “She has been instrumental in the development of our corporate partnership agreements with hospital systems reaching across multiple states. She also developed numerous community college agreements throughout central and southern Illinois, helping students transition more smoothly into our RN to BS program.”

“I am incredibly excited to move into the role of associate dean for academic programs and community/global partnerships,” Harrison said. “The School of Nursing has experienced tremendous growth these past few years in our RN to BS program and more recently in our graduate programs.

“One of my key duties will be to develop innovative strategies to increase the number of community and global partnerships with the School,” she continued. “I look forward to working with my highly-skilled and energized colleagues to create more pathways and options that will make SIUE become the premier University for nursing education in the region.”

Harrison’s clinical areas of expertise include nursing management/leadership, acute rehabilitation nursing, and skilled nursing. Her scholarship activities have focused on combined lifestyle interventions, diabetes prevention and stroke outcomes. She served as a research and leadership consultant for Anderson Hospital in Maryville from 2007-12. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies.

A St. Louis native, Harrison earned a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in nursing from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, in 1999, 2001 and 2007 respectively. She started her career in nursing in 1979, graduating from St. Luke’s School of Nursing in St. Louis.

Harrison replaces Rhonda Comrie, PhD, following her retirement in May 2018.

The SIUE School of Nursing’s fully accredited programs are committed to creating excellence in nursing leadership through innovative teaching, evidence-based practice, quality research, patient advocacy and community service. Enrolling nearly 1,400 students in its baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders in pursuit of shaping the nursing profession and impacting the health care environment. SIUE’s undergraduate nursing programs on the Edwardsville campus and the regional campus in Carbondale help to solve the region’s shortage of baccalaureate-prepared nurses and enhance the quality of nursing practice within all patient service venues. The School’s graduate programs prepare nurses for advanced roles in clinical practice, administration and education.

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