I am very pleased to announce that Allyssa L. Harris RN, PhD, WHNP-BC, has been hired as Dean of Nursing. She will begin on October 1, 2021.
Dr. Harris brings to her new role 27 years of professional clinical practice and higher education teaching, research and administrative experience. Most recently, she was Department Chair and Program Director in the William F. Connell School of Nursing at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA.
Dr. Harris has published more than 30 articles in refereed journals, including The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, the Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Neonatal Nursing, Journal of the Black Nurses Association, Journal of Nursing Administration and Nursing Education Perspectives. Dr. Harris has also written a number of book chapters as senior author and co-author. She is the recipient of numerous awards during her career, which include recognition as Nurse Researcher of the Year by the Massachusetts Chapter of the March of Dimes, Excellence in Nursing Education/Teaching Award, New England Regional Black Nurses Association, REIDS Scholar (Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS-Yale University) and the Spirit of Sigma Award, Alpha Chi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, and numerous other awards.
As a member of Boston College’s leadership team, Dr. Harris assisted with the development and implementation of the School of Nursing’s new DNP curriculum and facilitated the faculty’s transition to the new curriculum. In addition, she spearheaded the development of an innovative integrated women’s health, family and adult gerontological curriculum for DNP students that has expanded student inter-specialty learning, while maximizing faculty productivity. In collaboration with the Undergraduate and Graduate Associate Deans, Dr. Harris managed the nursing application process for the NLN Center for Nursing Excellence as well as led the School of Nursing through the CCNE and state board of nursing accreditation process.
She earned an associate degree in Nursing from Gardner-Webb College, a Bachelor and Masters’ of Science degree in Nursing, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing from Boston College. As Department Chair and Program Director, Dr. Harris oversees faculty affairs, guides the Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner program and is a Faculty Nurse Scientist in the Yvonne L. Munn Center for Nursing Research at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Dr. Betty N. Adams, who began serving as Dean of the College of Nursing on June 1, 2000, will be retiring at the end of October. During her extraordinary leadership, she successfully led the expansion of programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral levels; tripled enrollment and graduates; increased the appointment of nursing faculty; planned and oversaw the construction of a new nursing facility in the Medical Center, and successfully acquired external funding to support the overall productivity and effectiveness of the college. The acquisition of external funding included several endowments and grants exceeding $20 million. These funds supported the growth and offering of scholarships across programs, faculty, simulation technology pedagogy, the Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree Program, and the upcoming College of Nursing Research Center. Dr. Adams will assist with the transition in leadership.
Please join us in thanking Dr. Adams for her service over two decades and welcoming Dr. Harris to her new role when she arrives on campus.
Ruth J. Simmons
President