Leading researcher Ora L. Strickland takes the helm at FIU College of Nursing & Health Sciences

Veteran nursing educator and researcher Ora L. Strickland will join Florida International University’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CNHS) as its new dean.

“Dr. Strickland is an internationally recognized leader in her field who will energize our nursing and health sciences program,” said FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg. “She is a key addition to the university’s academic leadership team.”

Ora L. Strickland

Strickland, who takes the helm on July 1, succeeds Sharon Pontious, who has been serving as the College’s interim dean since February 2010. As dean, Strickland will oversee academic development and administrative operations across the five disciplines that comprise the College: nursing, athletic training, communication sciences and disorders, occupational therapy and physical therapy.

“FIU’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences is Worlds Ahead, fueled by intellect and driven by innovation and caring,” said Strickland. “These talented students, faculty members and staff are poised to further enhance their leadership and contributions to the nation’s health and well-being. We are very excited about the future of the College and its expanding role in impacting health care”

One of the founders of the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute for Nursing Research, Strickland is an internationally known specialist in nursing research, measurement, evaluation, and maternal and child health and parenting. She is the first researcher in the United States to track and document the symptoms of expectant fathers. She is also the youngest person to have been inducted into the American Academy of Nursing.

Strickland comes to FIU after serving 22 years as a professor in the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University in Atlanta.  During her tenure, she was the first person to hold an endowed professorship at the Woodruff School, the Independence Foundation Research Chair.  Previously, she taught nursing at University of Maryland, University of North Carolina and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

“Dr. Strickland brings with her a diverse educational background, strong leadership skills and the desire to grow FIU’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences,” said FIU Provost and Executive Vice President Douglas Wartzok. “Under her leadership, the College will continue to be a model of academic nursing success and a source of health care solutions for patients in all communities.”

Strickland’s accomplishments in the realm of academic publishing are numerous. She is the founding editor and senior editor of the Journal of Nursing Measurement; a prolific author who  has written and contributed to more than 21 books; and winner of nine American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year awards.  She has served on the editorial boards and panels for Advances in Nursing Science, Nursing Outlook, and Journal of Professional Nursing, among many others.

Her many professional honors and recognitions include her selection as an Endowment for the Humanities Fellow in Bioethics, an American Nurses Association Minority Doctoral Fellow, and as a Ford Foundation Fellow. Strickland received the “Trailblazer Award” from the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) and the “Mary Elizabeth Carnegie Award” from the Southern Council on Collegiate Nursing for her outstanding contributions to health and nursing, and was inducted into the NBNA Institute of Excellence.

Strickland earned a doctoral degree in child development and family relations from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. She holds a master’s degree in maternal and child health nursing from Boston University, and received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro. She received Honorary Doctorate of Science degrees from the Ohio Medical College in Toledo, and Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich.

She is now a resident of Weston.