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Nursing Dean to Step Down in 2014

Catherine L. Gilliss announced Monday she will be stepping down in 2014, after leading the school for 10 years

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Catherine Gilliss, dean of the School of the Nursing, will step down from the school's leadership in 2014.

In a letter to the faculty, staff and students of the Duke University School of Nursing (DUSON), Dean Catherine L. Gilliss announced Monday that she will be stepping down on June 30, 2014, after leading the school for 10 years.

"With the school on such solid footing, I believe that the time has come to close the chapter on my deanship," said Gilliss, who is also the Helene Fuld Health Trust Professor of Nursing and the Vice Chancellor for Nursing Affairs in the Duke University Health System.

During Gilliss' tenure, the school's enrollment almost doubled to more than 800 students and new programs were added for Ph.D. and doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degrees. DUSON rose from 30th in NIH research funding to 10th in the nation, and its U.S. News & World Report rankings rose from 29th to seventh.

DUSON built a new 59,000-square-foot building to house expanded, state-of-the-art academic and research facilities, and is now building on a 45,000-square-foot addition. The number of full-time faculty increased from 33 to more than 80 under Gilliss' leadership.

"The success of the school over the past decade has been largely the result of Catherine's forward-looking and innovative vision for nursing education and research," said Victor J. Dzau, chancellor for health affairs and chief executive officer for Duke University Health System.  "She anticipated opportunities and mobilized her faculty and staff to act on -- and successfully realize -- many of those opportunities including the creation of the school's Ph.D. program as well as North Carolina's first doctor of nursing practice program."   

One part of the growth was particularly personal for her, Gilliss said. "As an alumna of Duke University and its School of Nursing, I wanted to ensure that the school was viewed as a key contributor to the life and success of the university, and a school of which its alumni could be proud. I believe we have good evidence of our value to Duke and the pride shared by our alumni."

Calling her leadership "superb and visionary," Provost Peter Lange, the university's chief academic officer, said DUSON has indeed become an important part of the university. "Under her leadership, the school has become a fully integrated contributor to Duke's interdisciplinary culture in both teaching and research while also dramatically growing and improving as a School of Nursing in an era of massive change in health care and the potential role of nurses," Lange said.

Gilliss said she will be assisting in the search for a successor and hopes to personally thank each member of the DUSON community during her final year.