Message from Dean Sanford

This time of year is filled with enthusiasm and new beginnings as students return to school or start new programs.

At the SON, the faculty and staff are excited to welcome everyone back. We recently held celebration breakfasts for our Jackson and Oxford students and literally cheered them on as they attended their first classes.

As we continue to offer quality programming, develop new knowledge and provide rich clinical learning experiences, we must consider what we want our future to be and what it will take to meet our goals. Roughly every five years, the SON develops a strategic plan. We met in August to draft our strategic plan for 2023-2028. The excitement was palpable as we set innovative goals and discussed what our strategies will be for success.

The Executive Council will work on the next version of the draft and students and alumni will have an opportunity to provide feedback. Ultimately, faculty will vote on the final version in late fall for a January start. This iterative process provides many opportunities for stakeholders to weigh in on the vision for what the University of Mississippi School of Nursing will be by 2028. We welcome your feedback, input and recommendations as we engage in this process.

I hope you have a lovely September.

Julie Sanford, DNS, RN, FAAN
Dean and Professor
School of Nursing
University of Mississippi Medical Center