As change presents us with challenges, we must also consider its special opportunities. Our College of Nursing is experiencing a leadership change, as former dean Sandra Ferketich assumed the position of vice president for interdisciplinary education full time at UNM’s Health Sciences Center in March. As interim dean for the College, I will be challenged, along with our faculty and staff, to maintain the tradition of educational excellence while continuing our efforts to meet the nurse and nursing faculty shortage. We, as a college, take this opportunity to acknowledge the many contributions made by Dr. Ferketich during her nine-and-a-half year tenure as dean.

The UNM College of Nursing has been a major catalyst for change in nursing education. Dr. Ferketich envisioned leaders in nursing at the local, state, national and international levels. The vision has been realized by providing excellent academic programs and by serving as an academic home for nurse researchers, clinical scholars and exceptional faculty.

During Dr. Ferketich’s tenure, we have been a college “on the move.” We have doubled our student enrollment as well as have grown the largest capacity undergraduate degree programs in the state—and we continue to be the home of nationally ranked graduate programs. We have established an accelerated degree program and undergraduate and graduate Web-based programs like no other nursing school in the state. We were the first college in the state to have a fully approved and implemented PhD in nursing. We also have one of the first academic nursing residency programs in the country. The working partnership created with our University of New Mexico Hospitals is a highly regarded model across the country.

The PhD program, which is now an internet course component, will graduate its first candidate this spring. This PhD graduate—Marie Mugavin, who successfully defended her dissertation in early January—already has been hired to join the College’s faculty as an assistant professor. The faculty has rallied the College’s climb to a 38th ranking among more than 160 schools of nursing competing for federal research dollars in the United States. This ranks the UNM College of Nursing in the top 5 percent.

Dr. Ferketich taught us to keep dreaming, planning and executing important, cutting-edge programs and to provide excellence in nursing education, research, service and leadership. We as a faculty are exploring the many ways to move the College forward as we anticipate a national search for a new dean in the near future.

Karen L. Carlson, Ph.D., RN
Professor and Interim Dean, College of Nursing