Steve J. Schwab, MD, chancellor of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has announced the appointment of Laura A. Talbot, PhD, EdD, RN, GCNS-BC, as the next dean for the UTHSC College of Nursing.
Steve J. Schwab, MD, chancellor of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has announced the appointment of Laura A. Talbot, PhD, EdD, RN, GCNS-BC, as the next dean for the UTHSC College of Nursing. Dr. Talbot is currently the Dean W. Colvard Distinguished Professor in Nursing, and a Professor in the College of Health and Human Services at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC). She also serves as Director of the UNCC Health Services Research PhD Program. Dr. Talbot has extensive administrative, clinical and research experience, much of it gleaned during her more than 30 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, where she rose to the rank of Colonel and commanded a medical squadron. Her varied academic achievements culminated in her current positions at UNCC. Dr. Talbot will assume her responsibilities at the UT College of Nursing in June.
In her new role, she will be responsible for all four UTHSC missions — education, research, clinical care, and public service — at the UT College of Nursing, which is the leading producer of nursing faculty and graduate nurses in the region. With more than 5,100 alumni, the college is consistently cited on the U.S. News & World Report annual list of America’s Best Graduate Schools.
“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Talbot to the university community,” Chancellor Schwab said. “Her combination of extensive experience as a practicing and administrative nurse, combined with her substantial research talents and her proven ability to obtain major grant funding are assets that will be of tremendous benefit in her new role.”
Originally from Texas, Dr. Talbot received her undergraduate education at Incarnate Word College School of Nursing in San Antonio. She obtained graduate degrees from California State University in Los Angeles, the University of North Texas in Denton, and Texas Women’s University in Denton, focusing on college teaching, studies in aging and nursing. Her postdoctoral work was performed at the Gerontology Research Center and sponsored by the National Institute of Nursing Research and National Institute on Aging, parts of the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Talbot’s extensive academic appointments include five years on the faculty of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), Bethesda, Md., five years on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, Md., and four years at UNCC. Her contributions as a significantly funded researcher, scholarly reviewer, hospital administrator, published author and accomplished professor are augmented by her work as a member and leader of major academic committees, task forces, planning groups and evaluation teams.
Recognized as a leading contributor in her field, Dr. Talbot has received a wide variety of awards and recognitions including the Legion of Merit (2010); Meritorious Service Medal, Second Oak Leaf Cluster (2007); Brigadier General Beverly Lindsey Administrative Excellence Award, Air Force Reserve Corps (2006); Global War on Terrorism, Service Medal (2006), and Faye G. Abdellah Senior Researcher Award (USUHS-GSN, 2005).
Ken Brown, JD, MPA, PhD, executive vice chancellor and chief operations officer at UTHSC, and David M. Stern, MD, executive dean for the UT College of Medicine and vice chancellor for Health Affairs at UTHSC, co-chaired the search committee. Parker Executive Search assisted in identifying and screening candidates.