School of Nursing dean to retire

After 30-plus years at the University of Pittsburgh — more than 20 of them as dean of the School of Nursing — Jacqueline Dunbar-Jacob has announced that she is stepping down as of June 30, 2022, followed by a 12-month sabbatical and retirement effective June 30, 2023.

“I am very proud of the School of Nursing and its faculty, staff and students,” said Dunbar-Jacob. “We have been able to make an impact on education, research and practice both within the region as well as nationally and internationally.”

In addition to her role as dean, Dunbar-Jacob is a Distinguished Professor of Nursing and professor of psychology, epidemiology and occupational therapy. She is also an advisory professor at the University of Fudan in Shanghai, China, honorary professor of nursing at Capital Medical University in Beijing and visiting professor in nursing at Taipei Medical University in Taiwan.

“Jackie’s career trajectory covers many phases, but as dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing she was a rock star,” said Franklin Shaffer, who served with Dunbar-Jacob on the board of Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research. “In this role as in others, she impressed and encouraged her faculty in the advancement of nursing education and research, and many achieved high recognition as a result of her support.”

Indeed, current rankings place Pitt Nursing’s doctoral program in the top 10 nationally, with the Bachelor of Nursing at No. 7, the Doctor of Nursing Practice at No. 6 and other individual programs have ranked as high as third. Over the past 20 years, undergraduate enrollment has risen by 600% with a retention rate of 97%. Pitt graduates currently serve as deans or directors of 21 schools of nursing. More than 20 others serve as chief nursing officers of hospitals or health systems.

Dunbar-Jacob’s work has been recognized with the Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award, the Pennsylvania Nightingale Award for research and induction into the Sigma Theta Tau International Inaugural Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame. In 2015, she was named among the 30 most influential nursing deans. She is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, the American Psychological Association, the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research, the Society of Behavioral Medicine and the American Heart Association.

Maureen Lichtveld, dean of the Graduate School of Public Health, has agreed to chair a search committee for Dunbar-Jacob’s replacement, with the assistance of executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates.