Officials at Florida International University have announced that the School of Nursing has become a free-standing college.
The newly formed College of Nursing & Health Sciences results from the reorganization of the former College of Health & Urban Affairs (CHUA) which had included the School of Nursing into three independent colleges. The motion to restructure CHUA was unanimously approved by the Faculty Senate on a meeting held September 9, and approved by University Provost Dr. Ronald Berkman on September 19. Divina Grossman, PhD, RN, ARNP, FAAN, currently Dean of the School of Nursing, will become Executive Dean of the College of Nursing & Health Sciences. The new College will be comprised of the following programs: Nursing, Communication Science & Disorders, Health Information Management, Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy, and Health Sciences (general). The School of Nursings conversion to an autonomous academic College comes as FIUs nursing program prepared to celebrate its 25th Anniversary in 2007. “This move represents a defining moment in the history of our nursing program, providing us with additional autonomy and resources, and putting us on par with other top nursing education institutions around the country,” said Grossman. She added, “But the change also presents the entire College with a collective and unique opportunity to achieve synergies of resources and knowledge across all of the health-related disciplines that are not part of the College. Interdisciplinary collaboration within the College will advance the level of teaching, research and educational opportunities we can provide to all students, which translates into a higher quality of health care service from all of our graduates.”