Dear Colleagues –
As we continue the search process for our next CONHI dean, I want to provide an update on the college’s interim leadership.
Effective immediately, Dr. Tanya Sudia, senior associate dean for nursing, has assumed the role of chief nursing officer for UTA. In addition, she will assume the role of interim dean on January 1, 2025. Dean Elizabeth Merwin will remain in her role as dean through December 31, 2024, with Dr. Sudia working closely with Dean Merwin who will get her up to speed on these roles to ensure a seamless transition. Dr. Sudia will remain in the interim dean and chief nursing officer roles until a permanent dean is hired.
I also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate Dean Merwin for her many accomplishments during her five years with CONHI as dean. Without question, she has amassed an impressive list of accomplishments and, while they are too numerous to name all of them, I do want to provide a few representative examples of how she has advanced the college and, with support of the faculty and staff, turned it into the standard bearer for nursing that it is today. As part of her efforts to address the nursing shortage, Dean Merwin authored a successful proposal for the legislative appropriation of $8 million to date in establishing the Center for Rural Health and Nursing. She has also served on multiple committees at the state and national level to address the shortage and, through these efforts, helped secure additional funds this year as part of the state’s strategy to address the nursing shortage, including $3.2 million over the next four years.
Dean Merwin led the successful transition to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and led UTA’s response as part of the University Covid Planning Committee. She assembled a research team focusing on cardiovascular health and disparities, achieving a No. 29 ranking in NIH funding for nursing schools. The dean’s leadership also increased tenure-stream faculty significantly and led to the recruitment of new endowed professors. Dean Merwin also led a successful 10-year CCNE accreditation review with no major findings, launched new certificate programs, and spearheaded the opening of the Smart Hospital with advanced simulation technology that is unparalleled in this region. Additionally, under Dean Merwin’s leadership, CONHI has been recognized as the top nursing school in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and a top 50 nursing school nationally. I could go on, but I think the point is made, which is that her leadership has literally transformed the College and, in doing so, enhanced UTA’s reputation in Texas and nationally. I look forward to celebrating Dean Merwin and all of her accomplishments with you at a later date, with details forthcoming.
I am also grateful that Dr. Sudia has agreed to lead the college as interim dean during the search process. Before arriving at UTA, Dr. Sudia served as a Professor and Dean of the College of Nursing at Augusta University, overseeing undergraduate and graduate nursing programs, as well as a Nurse-Managed Health Center, and other key strategic areas. She also served as associate dean for research and scholarship at Baylor University and as a faculty fellow and faculty associate for biomedical ethics at Emory University. She also served for many years in various faculty roles in the School of Nursing at Emory. Her research accomplishments include NIH-funded projects on research and clinical ethics, and she recently completed a Health Resources and Services Administration grant focused on integrating impactful primary care experiences for pre-licensure nursing students. She holds a Ph.D. in educational studies, a Master of nursing and education from Emory, and a BSN from the University of Akron. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and a distinguished scholar fellow of the National Academies of Practice.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Sudia to this new leadership role, and in thanking Dean Merwin for her dedication and leadership of the College.
Sincerely,
Tamara L. Brown, Ph.D.
Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
