The UNLV Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost named Angela Amar the next dean of the university's School of Nursing, effective January 1, 2018.
Amar is currently associate dean for undergraduate studies and chief diversity officer of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University in Atlanta where she leads all undergraduate programs, including pre-nursing courses and accelerated programs, for over 500 students. As dean for the UNLV School of Nursing, Amar will lead one of the university’s longest running programs that educates nearly 300 undergraduate and graduate students each year within four degree programs.
“Angela is a successful leader, an award-winning author, and an accomplished scientist,” said Diane Chase, UNLV executive vice president and provost. “She brings with her great enthusiasm and wonderful ideas for how to move our School of Nursing forward. We are eager to welcome her to UNLV.”
In her role at Emory University, Amar redesigned the school’s undergraduate curriculum to include courses in population health, ambulatory care, and palliative care; and grew pre-requisite courses that enroll an additional 250 students each year. She also led changes that helped improve pass rates for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) from 77 percent to 96 percent.
Prior to joining Emory, Amar was the program director for the Advanced Forensic Nursing Program at Boston College from 2008 to 2012, during which time she also served as a tenured associate professor at the William F. Connell School of Nursing.
Amar’s clinical specialties are adult mental health and forensic nursing. She has dedicated her career to enhancing diversity in nursing leadership and to improving care and support for survivors of violence and trauma when they enter the health care system. Her research focuses on preventing dating violence and violence against women, which has been funded by multiple government agencies and foundations. Her work has appeared in more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. During 2016, Amar received book-of-the-year honors from the American Journal of Nursing for A Practical Guide to Forensic Nursing, which she co-authored.
As dean of the UNLV School of Nursing, Amar said that she plans to continue advancing programs that promote evidence-based practice and lifelong learning, foster leadership, and increase diversity within the profession.
“Nursing education is fundamental to improving the access to and quality of health care,” Amar said. “As our nation’s demographics shift, providing a pathway for lifelong learning and opportunities for seamless transition to higher degree programs will be essential to helping nurses meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population, function as leaders, and advance research. This is in perfect alignment with UNLV’s Top Tier goals. I look forward to working with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and School of Nursing leadership to advance the school’s community impact, education and top-notch clinical programs.”
Amar will replace Carolyn Yucha, who is retiring after leading the School of Nursing as its dean since 2004.
Learn more about the UNLV School of Nursing.
