UW News

March 5, 2012

Pamela Mitchell appointed interim dean of UW School of Nursing

News and Information

Pamela MitchellPamela H. Mitchell, professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, has been appointed interim dean of the University of Washington School of Nursing, effective March 16, Provost Ana Mari Cauce announced today.

Mitchell, who has been at the UW since 1969 when she was an acting assistant professor (part time), received her Ph.D. from the UW in 1991.

“Pamela Mitchells distinguished career as an educator and researcher has focused on collaboration and teamwork, which makes her very well suited to lead the top nursing school in the nation during this period of transition,” said Cauce. “I was thrilled when she agreed to take on this job while we commence a search for new leadership for the School.”

Mitchell is the founding director of UWs Center for Health Sciences Interprofessional Education and Research. She is also co-director of the Research Education Core in the Institute for Translational Sciences.

Mitchell is the author or co-author of more than 200 peer reviewed journal articles, books or book chapters, and book reviews, abstracts and technical reports.

She has received many awards over her career. In 2011 she was honored with the Ada Sue Hinshaw Award by the Friends of the National Institute for Nursing Research, presented to nurse scientists who make major contributions to improving health care through research. In 2010, she was selected by Sigma Theta Tau International as an inaugural member of the Nurse Research Hall of Fame.

Mitchell has served on numerous national commissions and on the boards of many professional organizations. She is currently a member of the Expert Panel on Quality Health Care, American Academy of Nursing. She is a fellow of the American Heart Association and Stroke Council. She served as president of the American Academy of Nursing from 2007 to 2009. She served on the editorial board of the Journal of Advanced Nursing for six years, and on the editorial board of Biological Research in Nursing for nine years.

Mitchell received her bachelors degree in nursing from the UW and a master of science in medical-surgical nursing from the University of California, San Francisco.

For more than 25 years, the School of Nursing has been ranked America’s No. 1 nursing school, including 17 years atop the US News & World Report list, which began ranking nursing schools in 1993. The schools mission is to advance nursing science and practice through generating knowledge and preparing future leaders to address local, national and global societal needs.