UVa Nursing School welcomes new dean

[cougarnurse]

From WCAV TV: UVa Nursing School Hand-Off, New Dean Takes the Reins /

September 8, 2008

In addition to a new nursing building, students at the University of Virginia Nursing School have a new dean.

In nursing, the term hand-off refers to the passing of care from one patient to another, and in that same manor; Jeanette Lancaster passed on her responsibilities to the new dean, Dorrie Fontaine.

“I think the schools that thrive are the ones where the leader who exits makes it easy for the next to come in,” Lancaster said.

Fontaine was appointed the new dean on May 2nd.

“We have had a meticulous hand-off in terms of education and knowledge about preserving and protecting the future of this incredible school of nursing,” Fontaine said.

“The last thing I would want after giving 19 years of this job would be to have someone coming in who was not capable of having the role. I wanted to be able to recruit a dean who would have skills above and beyond what I ever had,” Lancaster said.

As the Nursing School prepares to produce the next nursing leaders of the commonwealth, nation and the world, Lancaster says she knows she’s leaving the school in good hands.

“We've done a lot of good things, but there is more to be done,” Lancaster said.

Lancaster leaves in a few weeks to continue her teaching at the University of Hong Kong.