Courtney Lyder, on leave from duties as dean of the UCLA School of Nursing since July, will return fulltime to the faculty and step down as dean effective July 1, 2015, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Scott Waugh announced recently.
Waugh said professor Linda Sarna, the Lulu Wolf Hassenplug Chair in the nursing school, will continue as acting dean until a permanent appointment is made. A national search for a School of Nursing dean is expected to launch during the 2015-16 academic year, he said.
Under Lyder’s leadership since 2008, Waugh noted, the School of Nursing underwent successful accreditation reviews by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education in 2010 and by the California Board of Registered Nursing in 2011.
During his tenure as dean, Lyder has reorganized the school, recruited new faculty and staff members, established new international partnerships and exchanges, and overseen the much-needed remodeling of facilities in the Factor Building.
Lyder’s research focuses on gerontology and chronic care issues affecting older adults. He has addressed pressure ulcer prevention, identifying erythema in darkly pigmented skin, wound healing, quality improvement in skilled nursing facilities and elder patient safety.
He is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the New York Academy of Medicine. In 2011, he was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to the National Advisory Council for Nursing Research. In 2012, he was presented with the National League of Nursing President’s Award and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Saint Xavier University for his significant contributions to advancing nursing and health.
