Forum is Tuesday for nursing dean finalist Dr. Giurgescu

Carmen Giurgescu, PhD

Carmen Giurgescu, PhD

The third of four finalists vying for the role of UNMC College of Nursing dean will be on the Omaha campus this week.

Faculty, staff and students are invited to hear from Carmen Giurgescu, PhD, Chatlos Foundation Endowed Chair and associate dean of research at the University of Central Florida College of Nursing, during a campus forum Tuesday, Jan. 17. The forum will be from noon to 12:45 p.m. CT in in the UNMC Center for Nursing Science, room 40120, and also be available via Zoom. Attendees can access the Zoom link via this intranet page and ask questions during the forum.

A leader in eliminating racial disparities in preterm birth among Black women, Dr. Giurgescu has strategically developed a focused program of nationally recognized research to identify fundamental factors that underlie high rates of preterm birth among Black women. Her research, built on more than 15 years of clinical practice as a labor and delivery nurse and women’s health care nurse practitioner, has been consistently funded and currently includes two studies totaling $5.6 million from the National Institutes of Health.

In addition to Dr. Giurgescu, finalists include:

  • Lepaine Sharp-McHenry, DNP, dean of the College of Natural, Behavioral and Health Sciences at Simmons University, who visited campus Jan. 5. 
  • Hyochol “Brian” Ahn, PhD, associate dean for research at Florida State University’s College of Nursing, who visited campus Jan. 13.
  • Cynthia Dougherty, PhD, vice chair of research at the University of Washington School of Nursing, who will visit UNMC’s Omaha campus Friday, Jan. 20, with a campus forum from noon to 12:45 p.m. CT.

All finalist forums will be in the Center for Nursing Science, room 40120, and also available via Zoom. The Zoom links will be available via the finalist intranet page; links for each finalist’s campus presentation will be added on the day of their visit.

Provide feedback on Dr. Giurgescu’s presentation via a confidential survey form. Following the visit, a recording of each candidate’s campus presentation will be posted on the intranet.