By
Emily Severson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Dr. Margery Isenberg hopes to increase recruiting
In her new role as dean of the UA College of Nursing, Dr. Margey Isenberg hopes to improve the college by increasing minority recruitment and starting an exchange program in Mexico.
Additionally, Isenberg said she hopes to further enhance the university's ranking through faculty research, external funding and by entering into more partnerships with communities, especially south of the border.
Isenberg replaced Dr. Suzanne Van Ort two weeks ago when she stepped down after eight years as the dean of the College of Nursing in December. Isenberg began her duties on Jan. 8.
Before arriving at the UA, Isenberg was associate dean for academic affairs at Wayne State University's College of Nursing in Detroit since 1993.
She also directed the department of international programs there, and was involved in helping to establish graduate education programs in Mexico and teaching programs in Europe.
Her interest in Mexico was another reason for her decision to join the UA faculty. She helped establish Mexico's first doctoral program in nursing at the University of Nuevo Leon in Monterrey.
She hopes to develop a closer working relationship with the university.
"I would like to increase the connection by developing a partnership," Isenberg said. "It would focus on collaborative research through an exchange program."
She added that the UA and Nuevo Leon are working on similar lines of research.
Isenberg is planning on continuing her research on how chronically ill patients can improve their performance and take care of themselves.
One of the challenges Isenberg said she sees ahead of her is the shortage of nurses at all levels, so she wants to create more endowed chairs to recruit more people. She also wants to increase the diversity of the nursing staff, especially by recruiting more Hispanic nurses to reflect the Tucson population.
Van Ort said she was proud that she was able to be a part of helping the College of Nursing move forward. She said part of the reason she chose to step down was because she felt she had accomplished some of her goals.
The biggest challenge her job as dean presented her was collecting enough resources for the department, Van Ort said.
"We worked closely with the developmental office to increase our funds," she said.
Van Ort is on sabbatical this semester. She will return to the College of Nursing as a full-time professor next fall, marking her 27th year at the UA.
"I want to teach classes to students at the baccalaureate and doctoral level," she said.
Isenberg was selected after a national search was conducted.
She said one reason she choose the University of Arizona was its high ranking amongst U.S. nursing schools. The UA ranks 19th out of 175 schools, placing ahead of both Columbia and New York University.
Isenberg won the Wayne State President's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1986. She received her master's and doctoral degrees in nursing at Boston University and her undergraduate degree at the University of Pittsburgh.
