Posted: 12/27/2010
Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON) professor Phyllis Sharps, PhD, RN, FAAN, chair of the Department of Community and Public Health, has been appointed the Associate Dean for Community and Global Programs, beginning January 1. “Collaborations within our community are just as vital as our partnerships globally, and Phyllis has a demonstrated, successful track record for both,” said JHUSON Dean Martha N. Hill, PhD, RN. “We now have a position that will oversee the School’s outreach at home and abroad while constantly exploring innovative ways to strengthen our existing partnerships.”
The transition is expected to be completed by July 1. Her areas of responsibility will be comprised of all the JHUSON’s community programs, wellness center, and Center for Global Nursing. The new center will work with faculty and be administratively responsible for the PAHO/WHO (Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization), student study abroad programs, school-school collaborations, and special academic consulting and advising initiatives, such as NEWGIZA University and Malaysia.
“I am very honored to lead this bold initiative that will link our community and global projects,” Sharps said. “I look forward to working with my JHUSON colleagues and colleagues throughout the community and around the world to bring quality care to those who need it most.”
As an expert in maternal and child health nursing, a researcher, and a mentor to the next generations of Johns Hopkins nurses, Sharps works at the forefront of community and public health nursing and at the interface of mental and physical health. In addition to serving as the department Chair, she is also the director of three health and wellness centers operated by the School. The centers provide care in a Baltimore shelter for homeless, battered women and their children; a community-based transitional housing program for women; and for community dwelling elders residing in senior citizen housing. She conducts ongoing community-based, research implementing nurse home visiting programs aimed at reducing violence against pregnant women and their unborn infants. Sharps will continue to serve as Community and Public Health chairperson until her transition to associate dean is completed in July 2011.