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Walden University Names Associate Deans Four new academic leaders have been chosen in management, nursing, mental health counseling and education. Walden University recently named four new associate deans to provide leadership for the university’s management, nursing, mental health counseling and education degree programs:
“We are proud to have these four accomplished, experienced academic leaders at Walden, and we look forward to the insight and vision they will bring to our university,” said Jonathan A. Kaplan, J.D., president of Walden University.
Dr. Dixon-Saxon, who is also director for the M.S. in Mental Health Counseling program at Walden, has been faculty chair of the program since 2005. She is also a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of North Carolina and a National Certified Counselor, and she has served on the faculty of North Carolina State University and North Carolina Central University. Her research interests include the psychosocial identity development of African-American women and the mental-health needs of African-American mothers living in poverty. She earned her Ph.D. in counselor education from North Carolina State University, and an M.Ed. and a B.A. in journalism and mass communication from the University of South Carolina.
Dr. Gravett brings to Walden’s School of Management an extensive background in both management and higher education. Prior to joining Walden, she served as the director of academic affairs at the University of Phoenix-Western Washington since 2000. She also held leadership positions in a number of hospitals, health care organizations and medical centers before serving as president and CEO of Cynergy Group Inc. in the Seattle area from 1998–2000. She holds a Ph.D. in community and human resources from the University of Nebraska and earned her Master of Healthcare Administration degree from the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Torres, who will provide leadership for Walden’s School of Nursing, is nationally known for her research on interpersonal violence. She conducted one of the first national comparative studies of Hispanic women’s attitudes toward domestic violence and has received funds from the National Institutes of Health for various research projects. She is the editor of Hispanic Voices: Hispanic Health Educators Speak Out, which addresses social and cultural factors impacting Latino health care. Prior to joining Walden, she served as the dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey from 2002–2006 and was associate professor and chair of the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Nursing in the School of Nursing at the University of Maryland from 1996–2002. She earned her Ph.D. in mental health/psychiatric nursing from the University of Texas-Austin, and is a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
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©2008 Walden University |
Dr. Simms brings nearly 38 years of experience in educational leadership to the Riley College of Education and Leadership where he will help guide the academic programs, faculty development, and overall student experience for undergraduate and educator licensure programs. He served for 19 years as supervisor of teacher education at the Minnesota Board of Teaching (Minnesota’s autonomous teacher licensing board) and previously worked in post-secondary education at Wayne State University in Detroit, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Minnesota. He has received many awards for his contributions to education, including the Award for Exemplary Performance from the Minnesota Department of Education. He earned his Ed.D. in teacher education from Wayne State University.