By Vanessa Orr

In her new role as interim dean of the FAU Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, a position she’s held since July 1, 2024, Dr. Patricia Liehr sees herself as a conduit connecting the college’s past and its future.

“I am the bridge that is needed to get from Dean George to the next outstanding dean of the college,” explains Dr. Liehr, who came out of retirement to hold the position. “My main goal is to support the efforts of faculty and staff and the many wonderful people that contribute to what the college accomplishes. That will include listening to and supporting them in whatever ways that I can; my legacy will be that I tried to make a difference during this period of transition.”

Dean Safiya George, Ph.D., left the college in June to serve as the president of the University of the Virgin Islands. During her tenure at the college, she advanced the values-driven education and holistic, caring-based philosophy started by her predecessors, Dean Anne Boykin and Dean Marlaine Smith. This included the creation of a new nursing simulation lab on FAU’s Davie campus where student nurses can learn best practices in a clinical setting.

“Dean George brought such good energy, spirit, and ideas to the college of nursing and I am sure that our next dean will continue to build on that,” said Dr. Liehr, noting that the college is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year.

Dr. Liehr joined the FAU College of Nursing in 2004 as a professor and the first associate dean for nursing research and scholarship, and in 2014, left her associate dean role to become professor of nursing. She later returned to the associate dean role until her retirement in 2020, when she was awarded emerita professor.

“When I first took the job, I was looking for a place that reflected who I am; a place where I could work until I retired,” she explained of her move from Texas to Florida to join FAU. “This college has a very strong, caring philosophy that fit with how I saw nursing.”

Dr. Liehr’s philosophy is grounded in the importance of the human connection. Known for her work on “story theory,” the coauthor of Middle Range Theory for Nursing believes in the power of stories in health. Her teachings draw from her expertise in theory development and research that address personal and global peace.

In 1994, she was invited to Japan to help teach hospital nurses how to do research that mattered to their patients, many of whom had suffered strokes.

“These patients would tell us that having a stroke was nothing, they had lived through bombings during WWII,” she said. “One shared that she started on one side of the river with six children and by the time she got to the other side, she had two. We gathered the stories of how these people, who were now much older, had moved through such trauma.”

Dr. Liehr has since published several papers sharing the stories of Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor survivors, not only to show how storytelling can contribute to the medical field, but to share the lessons learned through her research.

“The participants told us they didn’t want us just to publish papers; they wanted us to spread the message so that young people could learn about the price of war,” she explained. To this end, Dr. Liehr worked with playwright and FAU graduate student Katie Morris to create a play, “With Their Voices Raised,” that has since been performed in Florida and by high school students in Hiroshima and Hawaii.

Through all of these experiences, Dr. Liehr says that she has honed the ability to be a good listener, which she believes is an important leadership skill. “A leader needs to pay attention and get the story … to interact in a way that allows understanding of the other person, even when their actions don’t make sense in a first assessment,” she said.

Before taking on the interim dean role, Dr. Liehr had remained active in retirement, consulting with the University of Nevada Reno to help develop junior faculty pursuing research, serving as a facilitator for the Stroll for Well-Being at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens and acting as a reviewer on editorial boards.

“My husband said I’ve never really retired, though holding the position of interim dean is quite different,” she laughed. “While I have no intention to continue as the dean beyond serving as a bridge, I value this bridge-work, preparing the college for its next dean.”