Message from Dean Sanford

Dear SON Friends and Family,

As I consider our upcoming year, I think about the importance of renewal. Merriam-Webster defines renewal as, "to make like new, regenerate, revive, resume, replenish." I hope you have returned from the holiday break recharged and that your new year is off to a great start.

We accomplished great things last year. We celebrated 10-year reaccreditation of our programs from CCNE, SACSCOC, and IHL; outstanding rankings in the US News & World Report (the gold standard for all program rankings); 449 graduates from our undergraduate and graduate programs; and record publications and external grant funding. Advanced practice faculty and staff are closely working with UMMC’s Center for Telehealth to implement telehealth in the state’s public and charter schools with the potential to impact access to care for over 100K students. We have a firm foundation to continue our growth and we are starting the year with a renewed sense of purpose and optimism to reach even greater heights.

Earlier this month, I attended our January faculty development session and faculty are hard at work reviewing programs and curricula for alignment with the new AACN Essentials. We are committed to educating students to be prepared for the complexity which is our health care system. With the shift to a focus on competence vs knowledge, we will graduate nurses even more ready to provide outstanding care to patients, families, and communities. Another exciting goal for this year is our focus on the new SON building. Teams are meeting with architects to design a school of nursing building that all can be proud of. We are considering how to get the greatest value for the $55 million in funding that was allocated during last year’s legislative session. Perhaps our most exciting focus for this year will be the celebration of our 75th Anniversary! We will be sending a Save the Date soon for our celebration gala to be held this fall. This will give all of us an opportunity to honor our accomplishments of the past 75 years and recognize outstanding alumni of the UMMC School of Nursing.

I love the quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’" As we remember his legacy, our school is answering the call to do for others by educating nurses, developing new knowledge, and practicing to our highest level to address health care’s greatest challenges.

All the best,

Julie T. Sanford, DNS, RN, FAAN, ANEF
Dean and Professor
School of Nursing
University of Mississippi Medical Center

Empowering Nurse Leaders. Transforming Health Care.