FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                           

For more information, contact:

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Sheila Champlin – (901) 448-4957, schampli@uthsc.edu

 

 

Laura A. Talbot, PhD, Named Dean for the

College of Nursing at 

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

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Memphis, Tenn. (March 9, 2012) – Steve J. Schwab, MD, chancellor of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has announced the appointment of Laura A. Talbot, PhD, EdD, RN, GCNS-BC, as the next dean for the UTHSC College of Nursing.  Dr. Talbot is currently the Dean W. Colvard Distinguished Professor in Nursing, and a Professor in the College of Health and Human Services at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC).  She also serves as Director of the UNCC Health Services Research PhD Program.  Dr. Talbot has extensive administrative, clinical and research experience, much of it gleaned during her more than 30 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, where she rose to the rank of Colonel and commanded a medical squadron.  Her varied academic achievements culminated in her current positions at UNCC.  Dr. Talbot will assume her responsibilities at the UT College of Nursing in June. 

In her new role, she will be responsible for all four UTHSC missions -- education, research, clinical care, and public service -- at the UT College of Nursing, which is the leading producer of nursing faculty and graduate nurses in the region.  With more than 5,100 alumni, the college is consistently cited on the U.S. News & World Report annual list of America’s Best Graduate Schools.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Talbot to the university community,” Chancellor Schwab said.  “Her combination of extensive experience as a practicing and administrative nurse, combined with her substantial research talents and her proven ability to obtain major grant funding are assets that will be of tremendous benefit in her new role.” 

Originally from Texas, Dr. Talbot received her undergraduate education at Incarnate Word College School of Nursing in San Antonio.  She obtained graduate degrees from California State University in Los Angeles, the University of North Texas in Denton, and Texas Women’s University in Denton, focusing on college teaching, studies in aging and nursing.  Her postdoctoral work was performed at the Gerontology Research Center and sponsored by the National Institute of Nursing Research and National Institute on Aging, parts of the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Talbot’s extensive academic appointments include five years on the faculty of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), Bethesda, Md., five years on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, Md., and four years at UNCC.  Her contributions as a significantly funded researcher, scholarly reviewer, hospital administrator, published author and accomplished professor are augmented by her work as a member and leader of major academic committees, task forces, planning groups and evaluation teams.    

Recognized as a leading contributor in her field, Dr. Talbot has received a wide variety of awards and recognitions including the Legion of Merit (2010); Meritorious Service Medal, Second Oak Leaf Cluster (2007); Brigadier General Beverly Lindsey Administrative Excellence Award, Air Force Reserve Corps (2006); Global War on Terrorism, Service Medal (2006), and Faye G. Abdellah Senior Researcher Award (USUHS-GSN, 2005). 

Ken Brown, JD, MPA, PhD, executive vice chancellor and chief operations officer at UTHSC, and David M. Stern, MD, executive dean for the UT College of Medicine and vice chancellor for Health Affairs at UTHSC, co-chaired the search committee.  Parker Executive Search assisted in identifying and screening candidates. 

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service.  In 2011, UT Health Science Center celebrated its centennial: 100 years advancing the future of health care.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.  The UTHSC campus in Knoxville includes a College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  In addition, the UTHSC Chattanooga campus includes a College of Medicine and an Allied Health Sciences unit.  Since its founding in 1911, UTHSC has educated and trained more than 53,000 health care professionals on campuses and in health care facilities across the state.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

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