September 12, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, AL — Doreen Harper, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School of Nursing at the University of Massachusetts Worcester, is the new dean of the UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) School of Nursing. She will join UAB on November 1.
“Everyone we spoke with said that Dr. Harper is someone who is able to bring people together around new ideas,” said UAB Provost Eli Capilouto. “As UAB works to continue to provide the best possible education for the next generation of nurses, this ability is so important because of the dramatically increasing role nurses play in the overall care of patients, and the criticality of nursing research in advancing prevention and care.
“I must commend the search committee, led by Harold Jones, dean of the School of Health Related Professions, for their tireless effort to find the best possible candidate that fits in with the mission and approach taken at UAB.”
In her five years at UMass Worcester, Harper led a dramatic growth in the graduate nursing program; increasing student enrollment by more than 200 percent, and graduate faculty and total faculty at least 250 percent. Also, she led the development of a Ph.D. program in nursing, as well as the effort resulting in full accreditation by the Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education. During her tenure as dean, grant and research funding increased from just more than $250,000 in 2000 to more than $2 million in 2005.
Harper earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Cornell University. She followed that by earning her master’s degree from Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and her doctorate from the University of Maryland.
Harper’s professional career began as an instructor at George Mason University Department of Nursing, where she rose to the rank of associate professor prior to joining the University of Maryland School of Nursing Baltimore County Campus. She returned to George Mason University for 13 years where she directed the nurse practitioner program and also served as the National Coordinator for the W.K. Kellogg’s Initiative on Community Partnerships for Graduate Medical and Nursing Education prior to joining UMass Worcester.
A fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, Harper was awarded the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties Achievement in Research Award for her research on nursing workforce policy. She has served on numerous national advisory committees for interdisciplinary health professions and nursing workforce development. Currently she serves as the Co-Chair of the Joint Advisory Committee for Nurse Practitioner Workforce Data of the American Association of Colleges and Nursing and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties and the Program Committee of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Additionally, she serves on the editorial advisory board of the American Journal for Nurse Practitioners. She is a past president of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties.
“UAB is an innovative academic health sciences center and has a history of collaboration among the faculty and all of the schools across the entire university in serving the people of Alabama and the world,” Harper said. “Everyone is interested in doing their best for students, patients and the state. The state truly values academic nursing and public nursing education in particular. This fits in very well with my core values for nursing and nursing education. I am looking forward to joining a great academic institution.”