Kent State selected a national leader as the new Dean of the College of Nursing. Dr. Versie Johnson-Mallard is a researcher, academician, clinician, and executive leader in nursing and higher education and most recently served as Associate Dean at the College of Nursing in the Health Science Center at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. The largest public multi-campus system in Northeast Ohio with campuses serving nine local communities, Kent State University and the College of Nursing are primed for growth in academic and research endeavors. “I am grateful and excited to join Kent State University and the College of Nursing,” said Johnson-Mallard.
A recognized national leader with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), National League for Nursing (NLN), and American Academy of Nursing (AAN), Johnson-Mallard works as an agent for collaborative opportunities for faculty, staff and students. “My strategic vision for the College of Nursing is to work collectively with other academic units on building research, scholarship, and education initiatives,” she explained.
Johnson-Mallard led funding collaborations with NASEM and National Institutes of Health (NIH) and engaged academic institutions, such as the UF Health Cancer Center, in developing interprofessional scientific innovations on cancer technology, prevention, and management. Johnson-Mallard stated, “I hold a true passion for guiding and mentoring the next generation of scientists, and I am excited to continue to seek out innovative opportunities for our nursing students at Kent State.”
Her funding focus is on first-generation and underserved populations of health care professionals and health consumers in the field of reproductive health methodology, culturally specific interventions as well as identifying strategies that may be used to inhibit the oncogenic activity of high-risk HPV genotypes. She looks forward to seeking out new funding sources while at Kent State. “I am extremely captivated by Kent’s College of Nursing’s strong commitment to student belonging, academic success, and community service and strengths in education equity for first-generation students,” Johnson-Mallard said
As inaugural Department Chair for the Family, Community, and Health System Science department at the University of Florida, Johnson-Mallard worked to diversify the faculty and develop research/grant infrastructures to support tenure-track and tenured faculty success with grants and contracts, as well as build scholarship teams with clinical faculty for collaborative ventures in nursing research, education pedagogy, and student success. She hopes to do the same at Kent State.
Johnson-Mallard is a proud alumna of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars program and Fellow of both the American Academy of Nursing and American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, the highest honor for nurses. She also served as a board member and committee member for NASEM, FAAN, and two hospitals in Tampa Bay. “I look forward to leveraging these relationships to build our Ph.D. program and our research portfolio,” she said. “I will work to promote excellence in education, clinical practice, community engagement, and research at Kent State University College of Nursing. As an accomplished researcher and education interventionist, I welcome collaborative engagement at all levels.”
Johnson-Mallard is a current and past Board member for national organizations, authored approximately 100 peer-reviewed publications, and presented for international and national conferences. She has a track record of earning and managing millions of dollars in funding. Johnson-Mallard earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing from the University of South Florida (USF), Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Florida, NCC board-certification as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, and second master’s degree in area of Clinical and Translational Science from the College of Medicine at USF. She received her undergraduate degree in Nursing from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
Please give a warm welcome to our new leader, Dean Johnson-Mallard.