Trent University is pleased to announce that Dr. Kirsten Woodend has been reappointed as the dean of the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing for a second five-year term commencing July 1, 2016.

Professor Woodend was first appointed dean of the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing in 2011. During her career she has held numerous teaching, research, and administrative positions in the field of nursing. Currently, she is also president of the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN), the national voice for more than 90 institutions that offer baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs and the accrediting body for nursing schools in Canada.

“Prof. Woodend’s leadership over the last five years has seen the Nursing program’s strong curriculum, leading faculty, and cutting-edge clinical simulation centre grow and develop,” said Dr. Jackie Muldoon, provost and vice-president academic at Trent University. “Kirsten is the perfect person to continue to build Trent’s reputation for developing skilled nursing professionals.”

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my leadership role at the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing and Trent University and look forward to the next five years,” said Prof. Woodend. “We have had some exciting growth in such areas as our Practical Nurse to B.Sc.N. program, and the use of simulation in preparing nurses for practice. In the coming years we plan to establish a Master's in Nursing program, develop opportunities for internationally educated nurses and expand our partnerships with other educational institutions and clinical partners.”

Prior to joining Trent in 2011, Prof. Woodend was an associate professor at the University of Ottawa School of Nursing. She served as the director and associate dean of the School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa until June of 2010. She is also a senior investigator for the Nursing Best Practice Centre, and was a clinical scientist with the Élisabeth-Bruyère Research Institute.

Throughout her career, and prior to being named president of CASN, Prof. Woodend held several key administrative positions, including director of Epidemiology in Public Health and director of Research with the Canadian Pharmacists Association. She has been awarded more than one million dollars in research funding as a primary investigator and more than three million dollars as a co-investigator.

As the dean of the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing, Prof. Woodend oversees academic leadership of the School and is responsible for the quality of education of the three program options available through the School, offered in partnership with Fleming College and George Brown College, including the collaborative four-year B.Sc.N. degree program, a compressed B.Sc.N. program and post-bridge RPN to B.Sc.N. pathway program. The dean is also tasked with building effective and collegial relationships between the School and other Trent University programs and departments, as well as with community partners and agencies.