Victoria Niederhauser, dean of the College of Nursing, has been named to the American Academy of Nursing‘s 2015 Class of New Fellows.
Niederhauser is being recognized for innovations that create seamless academic progression for nurses, building strategic partnerships to enhance learning and practice, and implementing programs to improve access to care for vulnerable and rural populations.
“I am humbled and honored to join an esteemed group of nurses who make a difference every day in the lives of patients, families, and communities,” said Niederhauser. “I look forward to representing the University of Tennessee and the College of Nursing at the induction ceremony this fall.”
The ceremony will take place during the academy’s annual policy conference—Transforming Health, Driving Policy—on October 17 in Washington, DC.
“Dr. Niederhauser is a well-respected scholar and a leader in the health care industry,” said Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Susan D. Martin. “We are proud of her accomplishments and happy to see her honored by her peers in this way.”
Niederhauser—a board certified pediatric nurse practitioner and Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow—has been leading UT’s College of Nursing since 2011. She earned a doctorate in public health from the University of Hawaii, a master’s in nursing from Boston College, a bachelor’s in nursing from the University of Massachusetts, and a diploma from Bridgeport Hospital School of Nursing.
The focus of Niederhauser’s scholarly activities has been in the area of child and adolescent health promotion and disease prevention, with an emphasis on immunizations and childhood obesity. She has received numerous research grants to study parental barriers to childhood immunizations and has published extensively in this area.
“We are pleased to welcome this talented class of clinicians, researchers, policy leaders, educators, and executives as they join the nation’s thought leaders in nursing and health care,” said academy President Diana J. Mason. “We look forward to working with them to continue the academy’s work in transforming health policy and practice through the use of our collective nursing knowledge.”
The academy fellows, with the addition of this newest class, represent all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and twenty-four countries. Academy fellows include hospital and government administrators, college deans, and renowned scientific researchers.
Selection criteria include evidence of significant contributions to nursing and health care, and sponsorship by two current academy fellows. Applicants are reviewed by a panel composed of elected and appointed fellows, and selection is based in part on the extent to which the nominee’s nursing career has influenced health policies and the health and well-being of all. New fellows will be eligible to use the FAAN credential (Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing) after the induction ceremony takes place in October.
The academy’s more than 2,300 fellows are nursing’s most accomplished leaders in education, management, practice and research. They have been recognized for their extraordinary contributions to nursing and health care.
Niederhauser joins Tami Wyatt, assistant dean and director of graduate studies; Sandra Thomas, director of the PhD program in nursing; and Professor Joanne Hall as the fourth UT College of Nursing faculty member to be inducted into the academy.
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CONTACT:
Tyra Haag, (865-974-5460, tyra.haag@tennessee.edu)