Nursing names new associate dean of academic programs

UNMC College of Nursing Dean Lepaine Sharp McHenry, DNP, announced that Joachim Voss, PhD, joined the college March 1 as its new associate dean of academic programs.

Dr. Voss previously served as the Independence Foundation in Education Professor at Case Western Reserve University in the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing in Cleveland, Ohio.

“It is my expectation that Dr. Voss’s addition to our team, along with our talented faculty, establishes a foundation for future success within our academic programs,” Dr. Sharp-McHenry said.

A registered nurse, Dr. Voss is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in symptom management research for fatigue, sleep and physical activity in patients with HIV and cancer.

In 2015, he became the director of the Hirsh Center for Evidence-Based Practice at Case Western Reserve University and was asked to rebuild the academic, clinical and educational activities of the center. In 2019, he became the PhD program director in the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, served as chair of the faculty senate, representing more than 4,000 faculty members from eight schools. The challenges of taking on both tasks simultaneously during the pandemic led him to seek the next leadership challenge.

Dr. Voss is recognized for his leadership roles in multiple national and international nursing organizations including MNRS, Oncology Nursing Society, Sigma Theta Tau and the American Nurses Association. He also has led multiple nursing and university-wide committees, ranging from faculty senate chair to a member of the President’s Council Strategic Planning Committee. He is an adjunct professor in global health at the University of Washington and has trained more than 200 global health leaders.

Following a Fulbright Scholarship, Dr. Voss received his PhD from the University of California San Francisco. A fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and in the Sigma Theta Tau Researcher Hall of Fame, Dr. Voss became a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health in 2003.

In making the announcement, Dr. Sharp-McHenry thanked Tiffany Moore, PhD, interim associate dean of academic programs, for her work during the transition. Dr. Moore will continue to work with Dr. Voss through the academic year to support his onboarding, she said.