Kent State University College of Nursing welcomes Tracey Motter, DNP, MSN, RN, as its new interim dean. Motter most recently served as associate dean of academics for the college. A longtime nurse, educator, and leader, she brings extensive clinical and academic experience to the role, along with a deep commitment to preparing the next generation of nurses. After years in academic leadership, Motter sees the position as an opportunity to approach leadership from a new perspective while advocating for the future of nursing.
Motter credits many mentors and leaders with helping her discover career opportunities she had never considered. She describes these moments as people “tapping her on the shoulder” and encouraging her to try something new. One of the most influential people in her academic career was Dr. Harriet Coeling, who recognized Motter’s potential and nominated her for Kent State’s university-wide Teacher of the Year award. Receiving the award in 2004 became an important turning point in how Motter viewed her own abilities and opened the door to new opportunities in academia.
Other leaders taught Motter important lessons about leadership, innovation and the importance of thinking outside the box. Under their guidance, she learned the value of rules and guardrails, as well as the importance of relationships. For Motter, effective leadership is about finding the balance between these qualities.
As interim dean, Motter describes her leadership approach as honest, authentic, and informative. She hopes to foster a culture of mutual respect among faculty and staff that encourages new ideas and innovative approaches to nursing education.
Motter is particularly focused on preparing students for a rapidly changing health care environment. Artificial intelligence, virtual reality, simulation, and other technologies are already changing the way health care is delivered, and she believes nursing education must evolve alongside them. She sees virtual reality and simulation as valuable tools for developing the critical-thinking skills students will need in practice. She is also interested in helping students understand how artificial intelligence can be used safely, effectively, and ethically.
Beyond the classroom, Motter wants to position the College of Nursing to meet the changing health care needs of Northeast Ohio. She sees opportunities to strengthen partnerships with health care organizations and believes Kent State will continue being a leader in helpding to build a high-quality health care workforce for the region.
She also hopes to support faculty growth, particularly in research and scholarship, while maintaining an environment where faculty, staff, and students feel informed and connected to what is happening within the College.
Connecting with students is another priority. Motter wants students to know who she is and see her as an approachable presence within the College. She hopes to spend more time greeting students in the halls, visiting student spaces, and showing them that their interim dean cares about their experience.
Motter’s path to nursing began with what she describes as “divine intervention.” While studying engineering, she was a runner when she was hit by a car and suffered a concussion. She spent time in the hospital but did not remember the experience. When she woke up, however, she knew she wanted to become a nurse. She changed her major, transferred universities, and began a career she never expected to pursue.
Her clinical career eventually spanned hospital nursing, critical care, post-anesthesia care, home care, hospice, and clinical education. She spent seven years working at the hospital bedside and continued providing clinical care through home and hospice nursing after joining Kent State.
Some of Motter’s most meaningful nursing experiences came from recognizing the impact of compassion, even when patients could not communicate. One young patient she cared for had suffered severe injuries in a motorcycle accident. He was unable to speak when she first cared for him but eventually regained the ability to communicate. When he did, he told her that he remembered her.
The experience reinforced a lesson Motter continues to teach students: hearing is often the last sense to be lost. Whether a patient is intubated, sedated, or unable to speak, she encourages nurses to continue talking to patients, explaining what they are doing and treating them with the same respect they would give any other patient.
Motter believes those personal connections are at the heart of nursing. Technology, medications, ventilators, dialysis, and other clinical skills are important parts of the profession, but they cannot replace the human relationships nurses build with patients and families.
Motter's transition from nursing practice into education was another unexpected turn in her career. She had been working as a unit manager overseeing the perioperative area and expected to continue in nursing administration. When that opportunity did not work out, she moved into education and soon discovered a career path she loved.
The transition also allowed Motter to balance her career with motherhood. Academia gave her the flexibility to be present for her children, attend their activities, and spend time with them during the summers.
Although Motter fully embraced teaching nursing students, she never lost her connection to clinical nursing. For many years, she continued to see herself as a bedside nurse while teaching clinical students. She emphasizing that faculty must model the behaviors they expect their students to develop.
Her experiences in home care and hospice further shaped her understanding of nursing's impact. Working on call over weekends, Motter often found herself entering patients' homes in the middle of the night. She had to quickly assess the situation, determine how to make the patient comfortable, and support families who were frightened by what they were witnessing.
Sometimes, she said, the most important thing she could do was simply sit with a family.
That understanding of compassion continues to guide the advice she shares with nursing students.
“Be compassionate with yourself and others, and your patients,” Motter said. “Compassion is what it’s all about. It’s not about feeling sorry for that person. It’s about walking in their shoes and being kind while you’re there. That’s what makes the difference.”
Motter earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh PA, in 1986. She earned her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) from Gannon University in Erie PA, in 1992, and completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), at Kent State University in 2016.
Outside of work, Motter enjoys horseback riding, scuba diving, and traveling.
Please join the Kent State University College of Nursing in welcoming Interim Dean Tracey Motter as she begins this new chapter of her career.
