SON: Connections - Winter 2003

Headlines | Briefly | From the Deans Desk
From the Deans Desk

Bridging Boundaries and Crossing Borders

Nancy Fugate Woods
Ph.D, R.N., F.A.A.N.
Dean and Professor

I'm delighted to share the wonderful news that the University of Washington School of Nursing's graduate program is again ranked No. 1 in the nation-a position it has held in various national surveys for 19 years. More important, the school's specialty-focused graduate programs were all rated among the top 10. These ratings reflect the amazing breadth and diversity of expertise available in our school.

How do we manage to achieve this recognition year after year? Through outstanding students, faculty and staff who together create cutting-edge programs and constantly advance their fields of study, and through the school's global initiatives and perspective. In this issue of Connections you will read about some of those initiatives.

The excitement is palpable, with faculty exploring new and better programming in areas such as rural mental health, infectious disease management, and complementary and alternative medicine. Through partnerships overseas, such as our collaboration with Chiang Mai University in Thailand, we benefit from a steady exchange of students and are able to offer intensive learning opportunities abroad. In fall 2003, two of our Thai-speaking faculty, Marjorie Muecke and Michael Kennedy, will take 10 students to Chiang Mai to study community and mental health for an entire quarter. This marks a significant achievement in our efforts to educate our students for a changing world.

Our programs are constantly expanding and changing to meet emerging needs for health care. It is no wonder that we attract visiting scholars and students from around the world. They contribute enormously to the school's unique environment and facilitate our high level of global involvement.

In this newly redesigned issue of Connections you'll learn about the School of Nursing's outreach and important work locally, nationally and globally. You'll also get a perspective on global health care and nursing from Dr. Richard Klausner, executive director of global health for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Since Sept. 11 we live in a changed world. The School of Nursing is embracing that world to shape health and health care both at home and abroad.

Headlines | Briefly | From the Deans Desk