UW News

April 28, 1997

Dean of Nursing Sue T. Hegyvary to Resign; Will Remain on Faculty

Dr. Sue T. Hegyvary, dean of the University of Washington School of Nursing since 1986, will resign from her administrative post effective July 1, 1998. She will remain on the faculty in the Department of Biobehaviorial Nursing and Health Systems.
During her years as the UW’s sixth nursing dean, Hegyvary has guided the school through repeated state budget cuts and sustained periods of uncertainty on federal research funding levels. Despite such challenges, the school remains top- ranked nationally in faculty excellence and productivity, quality of graduates and school leadership–a position it has occupied since nursing school rankings began in 1984. And in all but three of the past 12 years, it received the single largest amount of nursing research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)–over $6 million in fiscal year 1996. The year Hegyvary became dean, the school received $1.5 million from NIH.

“With enormous credit to the strength and excellence of our faculty, we have found innovative ways to continue our excellence in education, research and practice,” said Hegyvary. “These 11 years have been eventful, productive and rewarding. The school is in good shape and its future is bright. This makes it a good time to have a change in leadership.”

“Sue Hegyvary’s accomplishments as dean have reflected enormous credit on our nursing school and the University of Washington as a whole,” said UW President Richard L. McCormick. “She is one of the reasons this University is such a vital asset to the state, region and nation. I am personally very grateful to her for all the tireless energy, wisdom and leadership that she has brought to her work. In fact, I have not yet been able to adjust to thinking of the future without her as our nursing dean.”

McCormick said he would appoint a search committee soon to begin the task of identifying leading national candidates to fill the vacancy created by Hegyvary’s decision. Innovations during Hegyvary’s years as dean have included the following:

— In 1990, the school entered into a model academic-corporate partnership with ERA Care, Inc., to oversee health services for residents and to provide research and educational opportunities for faculty and students at a five retirement communities in the Seattle area, including the Ida Culver Nursing Care Center.
— In 1992, the school collaborated with leaders of the UW Bothell and UW Tacoma campuses to begin offering bachelor of science in nursing degree completion programs for registered nurses.
— Three new endowed professorships were established, focusing on health promotion, excellence in nursing, and healthy aging.
— Opportunities were expanded for faculty nursing practice arrangements in the community, emphasizing integration of education, research and health-care services.
— Minority undergraduate student enrollment increased to about 33 percent.
— A TV program and educational booklets were among many initiatives undertaken to bolster public education and outreach on subjects including AIDS, teen health, breast cancer, pain management and arthritis.
— A Citizens of the World Fund was created through private gifts to promote nursing student and faculty experiences in international health, building on Hegyvary’s special interest in promoting cross-cultural understanding.

Hegyvary, a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, specializes in medical sociology and complex organizations, focusing in patient care outcomes and future trends in nursing education and practice. She came to the UW in 1986 after 14 years in the Chicago area, where she was associate dean and associate vice president for nursing affairs at Rush University College of Nursing and Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing at the University of Kentucky and her master’s degree in nursing from Emory University in Atlanta. In 1974, she received her Ph.D. in sociology from Vanderbilt University.

The UW first offered nursing courses in 1918. The School of Nursing became autonomous in 1945, and today is internationally recognized for its commitment to the development of knowledge about nursing practice through research and to excellence in clinical practice. It offers four degree programs, including a doctorate in nursing science that prepares nurses for scholarly research activities in academia and practice. The school has 479 students, including 354 graduate students, and 83 full-time faculty.