Dean Cindy L. Munro shaped the future of health care education at UM’s School of Nursing and Health Studies

By Robin Shear

Cindy L. Munro arrived on the University of Miami’s verdant Coral Gables campus August 15, 2017, excited for her first day on the job as new dean of the prestigious School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS). Soon virtually everything changed with Hurricane Irma’s September 10 arrival in South Florida. “In the wake of the devastating storm, I was impressed by how quickly and seamlessly our school family came together,” said Munro.

Monumental change was a constant thereafter, and Munro was ready for it. “As sailors, my husband and I have a saying we use out on the water. ‘Other people have plans, but people on a boat have intentions,’” she explained. “Rather than a rigid plan about getting from A to B, you have a larger vision for where you want to go. You adapt to changing tides, winds, and storms with the long-term goal in mind and the ability to adapt to whatever is happening at the moment.”

Adapt she did, navigating the School through high-force hurricanes, a once-in-a-century pandemic, massive nursing shortages, and many more sweeping changes. Now, after seven years at the School’s helm, she is making a big change of her own. On May 31, Munro is retiring. “I am leaving at a time when the school is exceptionally strong,” she said. “It’s on such an incredible trajectory that it is poised to become a national leader in a way that very few schools of nursing or health studies are able to achieve.”

UM President Julio Frenk said Munro “led the School of Nursing and Health Studies to new heights” during her deanship. “The result is that our communities are benefiting from graduates who are compassionate and committed leaders in their field.”

Early on, Munro articulated a vision for SONHS to be Novel, Optimistic, World-changing (NOW). That vision characterized for Munro “the kind of faculty and students I want – people who are forward-thinking about new solutions to patient problems, people who really do believe they can change the world and are willing to give it a shot,” she said.

Meanwhile, her own ability to pivot quickly and embrace new opportunities helped grow the School’s reputation as a leader in health care education. “The goal of any leader is to build that stability into the organization so you are ready to roll when the VUCA situation comes along,” she has said, referring to the military acronym for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous.

She also established rigorous benchmarks for research funding, educational programs, accreditation, first-time pass rates, and more. She oversaw the launch of world-class facilities and innovative academic programs at the School. A top-25 nursing school for National Institutes of Health research funding since 2021, SONHS hit an all-time funding and ranking high in fiscal year 2023. “Dean Munro has recruited really stellar faculty members who have truly elevated the School’s research portfolio,” said Guillermo “Willy” Prado, UM’s Interim Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.

Fellow Dean Kenneth R. White, of the MGH Institute of Health Professions School of Nursing, was a student of Munro’s when she taught at Virginia Commonwealth University. Munro, he said, encouraged him to “think big” and “be confident in his ability to lead.” She has bestowed this legacy of bold optimism on the educational mission of SONHS as well. “We should embrace the idea that the world we’ll have in 30 years will be much more conducive to improving outcomes for patients,” Munro has written. “We should be running headlong into the future, ready to get there.”