Nursing: Two New Associate Deans

The Nursing School's Dean Norma Lang has announced the appointment of two new associate deans for undergraduate and graduate education: Dr. Linda Brown and Dr. Joyce Thompson. "Each of these individuals," said Dean Lang, "brings to her new position extensive leadership skills and experience that will be invaluable to the profession of nursing and our School as we continue to set standards for excellence in nursing education, practice and research."

Dr. Linda Brown, associate dean and director of undergraduate studies, is widely acknowledged as an exemplary scholar and educator within the University and among her colleagues in academia and health care worldwide. Of particular note is Dr. Brown's commitment to mentoring tomorrow's nurses by including undergraduate and graduate students, and junior faculty in her extensive body of research focusing on breastfeeding and models of health care for vulnerable women and children. She received her BSN from Temple in 1976, and MSN in 1978 and PhD in 1985 both from Penn. Dr. Brown joined HUP as a staff nurse in 1976 and became an instructor in 1979. She was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1985 and Associate Professor and Course Director in 1991, and was named the Miriam L. Stirl Professor in Nutrition in 1997. Dr. Brown has also served as the co-director of the Center for Low Birthweight Research, the chairperson of the Health Care of Women & Childbearing Families Division of the Nursing School, and Faculty Practice Director of PENN Transitional Services: Perinatal/Newborn Program. She was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 1989. Other honors include a Lindback Award in 1990, an AWHONN Award of Excellence in Nursing Research in 1996 and a Lenore Williams Award in 1998.

Dr. Joyce Thompson, associate dean for graduate studies and professional development, brings extraordinary leadership experience in nursing, bioethics, and midwifery. She is Director of the School's World Health Organization Collaborating Center in Nursing and Midwifery Leadership. Since 1979 she has served as director of the nurse midwifery graduate program. Dr. Thompson received her BSN in 1964 and her MPH in 1971, both from the University of Michigan. She received a doctorate degree in Public Health from Columbia University in 1980. She joined Penn in 1979 as an instructor in the Nursing School and director of the Nurse-Midwifery Graduate program. She was promoted to associate professor in 1980 and professor in 1989. Dr. Thompson is also currently director of the International Confederation of Midwives, the W.H.O. Collaborating Center in Nursing and Midwifery, the Teacher Education Program for Nurse-Midwifery and Nurse Practitioner Faculty, and the Penn Malawi Women for Women's Health Project. In 1995, SUNY Health Science Center awarded her an honorary DS degree.


Almanac, Vol. 46, No. 13, November 23/30, 1999

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