Kathleen Duncan, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing, UNMC College of Nursing Lincoln Division, assumed the role of assistant dean June 1. She succeeds Lani Zimmerman, Ph..D., who has held the position since 1995.
Dr. Zimmerman will continue at the college in an expanded research and teaching role.
As assistant dean, Dr. Duncan will be responsible for providing leadership in planning, organizing and securing the necessary resources to accomplish the division’s goals and objectives.
“I really enjoy working with faculty and staff here and I know the Lincoln community and resources pretty well. It’s a great environment to be in,” Dr. Duncan said. “We’ve always had a collaborative environment.”
Dr. Duncan said among her goals is to pull the division’s resources together. “Changes will allow us to better meet our needs and facilitate better communication and collaboration,” she said. “I want to see us continue to thrive, get more efficient and reduce barriers to make things even better for people.
She has a solid foundation on which to begin. “The division is strong, with excellent faculty, staff and students. There’s a growing demand for graduate programs and we have several research grants. Our graduates are in demand. We hear that all the time.”
Dr. Duncan’s responsibilities also include securing student clinical experiences in Lincoln health care facilities. As in Omaha, Kearney and Scottsbluff, Lincoln nursing students compete for clinical patient experiences supervised by faculty.
There are five schools with nursing programs in Lincoln.
“There’s limited clinical availability,” Dr. Duncan said. “All the schools sit down and submit requests. The schools work with each other to meet each others’ needs.”
Dr. Duncan said what she enjoys about being in academic nursing is the opportunity to see students grow “and go beyond the clinical skills focus and see the broad picture. It’s really satisfying to see how much students grow and learn,” she said.
One of her favorite parts of teaching comes at the end of the semester when students present their semester projects. “I tell people I don’t need to be paid during the weeks I see students present projects in their community clinical settings. I’m always amazed at how well they know their data and how they see themselves not just as a nurse, but part of the system.”
Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., dean of the UNMC College of Nursing, said she is delighted Dr. Duncan accepted the appointment.
“She brings a wealth of experience in nursing education and also a deep knowledge of the Lincoln community. Her background in administration and health systems positions her for great success in this role," Dr. Tilden said.
Dr. Duncan earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1973 from Arizona State University College of Nursing in Tempe, her master’s degree in nursing in 1983 at UNMC and doctoral degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1994.
She became an assistant instructor at the UNMC College of Nursing in 1980 and was promoted to associate professor in 2001.
From 1974 to 1979, Dr. Duncan was a unit manager and charge nurse in a medical-surgical unit in St. Joseph Hospital in Tucson. Prior to that, she worked in a trauma/burn unit in Phoenix.
Dr. Duncan and her colleagues are funded by the National Institutes of Health and the College of Nursing to study various aspects of exercise in patients with heart failure.
Her honors include the Rosalie Yeaworth Teaching Excellence Award and Nurse of the Year, District 3, Nebraska Nurses Association. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, Nu Rho Chapter, Midwest Nursing Research Society and the American Nurses Association.