Officials announced Susan Kelly-Weeder will become the next dean for the School of Nursing in a release Wednesday.
Kelly-Weeder served as the associate dean for graduate programs at the Boston College Connell School of Nursing since 2017 and as president of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, which researches and encourages the implementation of best practices for nurse practitioner education, from 2020 to 2022. The release states that she will begin the position July 17, replacing Jean E. Johnson, the founding dean of the School of Nursing who began as interim dean in April following former Dean Mei Fu’s resignation in February after two months serving in the role.
“I look forward to working with the School of Nursing’s outstanding faculty, students and staff to further advance the school and nursing profession,” Kelly-Weeder said in the release.
Kelly-Weeder is a board-certified family nurse practitioner with a clinical practice in family and college health and has teaching experience as an associate professor at Boston College’s nursing school, according to her profile on the Boston College faculty directory. The release states that Kelly-Weeder developed a required graduate-level diversity course and implemented a “holistic” admission process to increase diversity among incoming graduate students during her time as the school’s associate dean for graduate programs.
Kelly-Weeder has also conducted research on disordered eating and binge drinking and is “widely published” on the topics of high-risk health behaviors and nurse practitioner education, the release states.
“We were extremely impressed by Dr. Kelly-Weeder’s collaborative spirit, commitment to academic excellence and work enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the nursing profession,” Provost Chris Bracey said.
The nursing school has undergone several changes in leadership since July 2021, when former Dean Pamela Jeffries left after six years to serve as the dean for Vanderbilt University’s nursing school. Following her resignation, Pamela Slaven-Lee, who served as the School of Nursing’s senior associate dean for academic affairs and will begin as the dean of the College of Health and Education at Marymount University in June, served as interim dean until January 2023 when Fu stepped into the position. Fu left after two months and officials and faculty offered no explanation on what prompted her departure.
The release states that Johnson will continue as interim dean until Kelly-Weeder replaces her in July. Johnson said Kelly-Weeder is a “visionary” with leadership experience that makes her a “superb” choice for the school’s next dean, according to the release.
“I have known Dr. Kelly-Weeder for many years, and she consistently demonstrates effectiveness, creativity and kindness in her leadership and has greatly influenced the direction of nursing,” Johnson said.
Christine Pintz — a professor at the School of Nursing who served as the chair of a search committee for the new dean, which consisted of alumni, trustees, faculty, staff and students — said Kelly-Weeder is a “known leader” for her work in health equity and commitment to refining health care education, according to the release. The release states that the search committee identified Kelly-Weeder as a “strong candidate” because of her “progressive” experience in faculty administrative roles and commitment to academic excellence.
“The search committee was impressed with her collaborative approach to leadership, which will allow the School of Nursing to partner across schools and in the community,” Pintz said.
