Mary G. Boland, dean of the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, will retire in summer 2020. During Boland’s 14 years as dean, the school has flourished through the addition of innovative approaches to education, research and community service.
Boland’s achievements include the expansion of the nurse practitioner programs to improve access to care, and the introduction of the Graduate Entry to Nursing Program, doctor of nursing practice degree and the expanded function dental hygienist certificate. The nationally ranked programs attract the best and brightest Hawaiʻi students.
“The delivery of healthcare is increasing in complexity and nurses must be educated to act as agents of change while advocating for consumers,” said Boland. “To do so requires they are prepared to provide high quality patient care and contribute to the systems and policies that influence the design of care delivery in all settings.”
As the longest serving dean of the school, Boland successfully led three nursing and two dental hygiene national accreditations, and oversaw the funding and construction of the nationally recognized UH Translational Health Sciences Simulation Center that serves students, clinicians and healthcare organizations.
A search advisory committee, with representation from the community, donors, faculty, staff, students and Kualiʻi Council, will be formed. A national search for Boland’s successor will start by the end of the fall 2019 semester.
See the full story on the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene website.
—By Desiree Uyeda
