Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., dean of the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing for the past seven years, has announced she will retire next year on June 30, after 36 years in nursing education.
A desire to be closer her six children and six grandchildren on the west coast was behind her decision.
“We have a large and wonderful family 2000 miles away. We love it here. It was a hard decision,” Dr. Tilden said. “It’s given me tremendous satisfaction to lead a college of high caliber within an excellent academic medical center. Whatever successes the college has had is a direct credit to the hard work of the faculty. I’ve been so privileged to be in a position to put a voice to the work of this faculty.”
Under Dr. Tilden’s leadership, the college increased the number of nurses in the state through expanded enrollment and more programs.
Accomplishments include:
· a fifth division in Norfolk and a new nursing science facility in Omaha;
· approval from the Board of Regents for a new facility for the UNMC College of Nursing Lincoln Division;
· two new accelerated degree programs and a post-doctoral research program;
· numerous federally funded training grants;
· three endowed chairs;
· large increase in private gifts;
· a flawless report in its national re-accreditation process
UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., said Dr. Tilden has been a model dean and a national leader in nursing. “Her accomplishments at UNMC are exemplary, including increased grant support, new educational programs, recruitment of top faculty, new building initiatives, and expansion of the workforce in Nebraska. She is also highly regarded by her peers, the Board of Regents and the community.”
A standard of excellence and a belief in partnerships has driven Dr. Tilden in her role as dean. She was the college’s sixth dean and succeeded Dean Ada Lindsey, Ph.D.
“The most important factor in establishing a division in Norfolk is that it was done in partnership with Northeast Community College. I think it’s really a model for the state,” she said. “It enhances career mobility for nurses from associate degree through the advanced degrees of the university. But it’s not just about what’s good for careers, it’s what more education means for patients. With each layer of additional education, there’s an added advantage for patient outcomes and an improvement in the health systems that care for patients.”
Dr. Tilden said she will miss the people. “I have so much appreciation for the wonderful people of this state — their generosity, work ethic, and love of family and the land” she said. “It’s been a privilege to be embraced into this environment.”
Prior to UNMC, Dr. Tilden served as an endowed professor and associate dean for research at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing in Portland, where she holds the title of professor emeritus.
She is nationally known for her extensive research related to end-of-life care. She was one of the founders of the Center for Ethics in Health Care and led the center’s research program on improving care of the dying. She has been a principal- or co-investigator of National Institutes of Health-funded research and training grants since 1986 and active in teaching, curriculum development and program evaluation since 1974.
She began her career in nursing in 1967 as a psychiatric nurse. In 1972, she began lecturing at the University of California San Francisco School of Nursing where she ultimately served as assistant clinical professor in psychiatric nursing. In 1982, she accepted a position as associate professor at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing, where she was elevated to full professor in 1988 and to associate dean in 1991.
Dr. Tilden earned both her master’s degree in psychiatric nursing in 1971 and her doctorate in nursing science in 1981 from the University of California San Francisco School of Nursing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in 1967 from Georgetown University School of Nursing in Washington, D.C.
Among numerous awards, she received the first Pathfinder Distinguished Researcher award from the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (2002); the 2007 Helen Nahm Research Award from the University of California San Francisco; and the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Midwest Nursing Research Society.
Through world-class research and patient care, UNMC generates breakthroughs that make life better for people throughout Nebraska and beyond. Its education programs train more health professionals than any other institution in the state. Learn more at unmc.edu.