On July 6, Dr. Nicole Webb will take on the position of Dean of the School of Applied Health Sciences at Emporia State. She will step down as chair of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at A.T. Still University. 

Webb brings with her a wealth of administrative, educational and clinical experience. She has over 20 years of experience as a nurse and over 10 years of experience in both instructional and administrative roles in higher education. 

Webb says that her first act as dean will be to perform a “current state assessment” to better understand the administrative processes of the school and identify potential improvements. She will also engage in a “listening tour,” a period in which she will visit each major under the School of Applied Health Sciences and provide an open forum for students and staff to express their struggles, concerns and even general information regarding the school. Then, Webb plans to take the concerns she has gathered from her information-gathering campaign and transform those concerns into goals for different teams created to improve the school’s programs. 

“I think it’s important to allow people to verbalize their thoughts and feelings on the college, what they would like to see from the college as well,” said Webb. “Ultimately, we have to work together to meet the students’ needs.”

Webb has also established several goals for her administration. She hopes to promote collaboration among the different areas of ESU science programs, enhance community relationships, build external partnerships for clinical work and increase enrollment by offering innovative student programming. 

One major factor that influenced Webb’s hiring was the similarity between ESU’s health science programs and those of her previous university. 

“What stood out about her was her administrative experience at another university that had a similar type of school as the School of Applied Health Sciences, so a lot of the same disciplines,” said Paul Luebbers, interim dean of the School of Applied Health Sciences. “She’s already familiar with disciplines within our school.” 

Webb emphasizes the importance of strong leadership skills and describes her own leadership style as “transformational.” 

“What I mean by that is my leadership style complements the population of the community that I’m serving,” she explained. “I want to make sure that I engage each person with an approach that’s tailored for them, so my leadership style seeks to inspire and empower people and to promote collaboration and teamwork among everyone that’s faculty, staff and students.”

Webb wants students to know that, under her administration, their voices will be heard. 

“I want to make sure that the students understand that I am very student centered in my thinking, and I am an advocate for students,” said Webb. “It is really important to me that students are having a great experience and that they feel as though they can reach out if they are struggling or having problems, to just know that their support.”