FIU nursing dean Divina Grossman named vice president for engagement

MIAMI – Florida International University College of Nursing and Health Sciences Dean Divina Grossman has been appointed the university’s founding vice president for engagement.

FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg explained that in her new role, Grossman will provide leadership for the development and coordination of partnerships with key local, state, national and global stakeholders and will spearhead a university-wide effort to coordinate and expand internship opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students.

Divina Grossman

She also will have major responsibility for coordinating FIU’s effort to receive the Community Engagement classification by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement for Teaching. The classification recognizes institutions of higher education that form partnerships with their larger communities to share knowledge and resources.

Grossman will remain dean until the dedication of the new College of Nursing and Health Sciences Building at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus on Feb. 4. Sharon Pontious, currently associate dean for academic affairs in the college, will then become interim dean. A search committee for the dean of the college will be appointed in the spring.

Rosenberg, whose “Hit the Ground Running” strategic vision for FIU includes an emphasis on engagement, said Grossman has demonstrated an ability to work with both private and public sector interests. He cited her experience building funded partnerships that are consistent with sound academic and research practice and focused on solutions to key community needs, as well as her utilization of innovative methods to fund a full range of nursing programs, drawing on federal, private sector, and foundation support.

“Dr. Grossman comes well-equipped to lead the institution’s engagement initiatives,” Rosenberg said. “With her at the helm of our engagement efforts, FIU will form mutually beneficial new partnerships and deepen established ones. This will allow us to serve as a national model in joining forces with community partners to solve our most-pressing regional problems.”

Grossman said she will draw on her experience in forming partnerships at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to find ways that FIU can leverage its resources – which include faculty members who are leaders in their respective fields, cutting-edge research and eager and talented students – to form successful strategic relationships in our community,” she said. “I look forward to helping FIU take its strategic engagement to the next level.”

Steven Marcus, president and CEO of Health Foundation of South Florida, which has supported the College of Nursing and Health Sciences with scholarships, described Grossman as a “community asset”.

“She is a bridge builder,” Marcus said. “She is able to identify the right fit between services and programs at FIU and community partners. Her diligence, dedication and professionalism are what make her such a terrific choice for this new position.”

Grossman was the director, and later dean, of the School of Nursing from 2000 to 2006. She has served as dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at FIU since its creation in October 2006.  She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas (Philippines), a Master of Science in Nursing at the University of Miami, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania.  She is a Clinical Specialist in Medical Surgical Nursing and is a licensed Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner in Florida. She has conducted research in the areas of blood pressure rhythms and fever management.

Her leadership has been recognized nationally and locally.  She currently serves as Chair of the American Academy of Nursing’s Health Disparities Task Force and co-chaired the Academy’s national health disparities project that was funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.  She also serves on the National Advisory Council of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Nurse Faculty Scholars Program and is chairwoman of the Florida Association of Colleges of Nursing, chairwoman of the Board at Kendall Regional Medical Center, and vice-chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Health Foundation of South Florida. Among her other service appointments, she has been recognized as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She currently serves on the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Nursing.

About FIU:
Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. More than 100,000 FIU alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University”. In August 2009, FIU welcomed the inaugural class of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu.