The School of Nursing and Health Studies operated without a permanent dean for one year, from June 2010 to June 2011. After a year’s search for a new dean, Dr. Martin Iguchi was appointed Georgetown’s new Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Studies in July.
Iguchi said that during his tenure, he will work on expanding the school’s online nursing master’s program and establishing relationships with health-related community-based organizations inside and outside of D.C.
Iguchi, who served as the chair of the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of California Los Angeles’s School of Public Health, said Georgetown’s Jesuit values and focus on social justice were what attracted him the University and led him to leave “a comfortable position” at UCLA.
“Our students and faculty are truly inspiring,” Iguchi wrote in an email.
He plans to work with students and faculty in the NHS in the next few months to identify ways the school could make long-term partnerships and contributions to health care locally and internationally.
These programs would emphasize students working across disciplines. In addition to participating in the clinical and scholarly aspects of the programs, students would also be responsible for administrative aspects like program development and maintenance.
“I am very interested in further developing a social action agenda,” Iguchi wrote. “Georgetown has a long tradition of service.”
The partnerships would likely address health issues like cancer screening, heart health, and diabetes management.
Iguchi also said that he would be working on expanding the school’s online nursing master’s program. The NHS launched three online nursing graduate programs (Family Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Midwifery and Women’s Health, and Nursing Education) in the spring of 2011.
“This program holds incredible promise for the health of the nation by educating more Georgetown nursing leaders to work in clinical and community settings, particularly in rural and underserved areas of the United States,” Iguchi wrote. According to Iguchi, there are currently 100 students enrolled in these nursing programs from 21 states and the District of Columbia.
Previously, Dr. Bette Jacobs and Dr. Julia DeLoia served as the NHS deans. Jacobs served as dean for 11 years, from 1999 to 2010, and DeLoia served as an interim dean for the past year while the search for a permanent dean took place.
Dr. James Welsh, the Assistant Vice President for Student Health, chaired the search committee for the new dean.
“Dr. Iguchi was absolutely the type of person we were looking for,” he wrote in an email. Iguchi “had demonstrated success as a leader, as a scholar and researcher,” according to Welsh.
Iguchi noted the achievements of his predecessor, including the renovation of St. Mary’s Hall, the construction of the Discovery Center, and a growth in undergraduate applications.
Personally Iguchi said that he sees possibilities for continued growth in all of the academic programs in the NHS, and said there are no plans to reduce any programs.
Iguchi plans to continue his own research in HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, and drug policy while at Georgetown, and to work with students and faculty to expand research in those fields within the University.
