UNC chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz announced on Wednesday that he had selected two new deans for the UNC School of Nursing and the Adams School of Dentistry. Dr. Valerie Howard was chosen for the School of Nursing, while Dr. Janet Guthmiller will lead the School of Dentistry.

Howard will step into the role of dean after serving as Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and a clinical professor with Duke University’s School of Nursing. Howard oversaw admissions, course quality, accreditation and support services for the school’s students. Prior to Duke, Howard worked at Robert Morris University’s School of Nursing and Health Sciences, eventually becoming dean of that school.

Howard has also worked with partnerships on four continents and taught as a visiting professor in Hong Kong in 2019. She holds graduate degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and earned her bachelor’s at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

“I am thrilled to serve as the next dean for the UNC School of Nursing, building upon the strong tradition of excellence and positively influencing the future of nursing education, nursing science, and clinical practice nationally and globally,” Howard said.

Howard’s first day will be August 1.

Guthmiller will take the position of dean in the Adams School of Dentistry after serving in the same role at the University of Nebraska’s College of Dentistry. She will hold the Claude A. Adams Distinguished Professorship.

Guthmiller previously was the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and a professor of periodontology within the Adams School from 2007 through 2014. She has also served on the faculty at the University of Maryland and the University of Iowa. Recently, Guthmiller served as the president of the Supreme Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon, a national dental honor society. She is the current chair-elect of the administrative board of the American Dental Education Association Council of Deans, and has received numerous awards for her work.

She earned her DDS from the University of Iowa and a doctorate in cellular and structural biology from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her first day will be October 15.

 

Featured image via UNC-Chapel Hill

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