The School of Nursing launched four new centers as part of an initiative to support faculty and students across different disciplines, according to a Sept. 13 press release.  

Eun-Ok Im, Dean of the School of Nursing, created the centers and based them around global outreach, healthcare innovation, advanced research and professional development, according to the press release.

“I want the nursing community to see us as experts,” said Julie Zuñiga, interim director of the new Center for Global Nursing and Health. “If you need help with something, you can come to us and we’ll help you with the research side or the nursing side or the education side.”

The Center for Global Nursing and Health will connect students and faculty with the global nursing community and take the University’s research to an international level, Zuñiga said.

The Center for Health Care Innovation and Technology Advancements aims to advance the healthcare process through interdisciplinary research and technological development, center director Bo Xie said.

“This interdisciplinary and collaborative approach is essential for creating meaningful and sustainable advancements in healthcare,” Xie said in an email. 

The Center for Advanced Research Methods will provide students and faculty with data science support to enhance research quality and improve data science education, center director Shelli Kesler said. 

“Accessible, practical data science support is critical for rigorous, impactful research,” Kesler said in an email. “However, many faculty and students across disciplines don’t have strong backgrounds in statistics, so they rely on core resources, like our center, to assist them.”

The Center for Professional Development and Scholarship aims to support faculty both in developing innovations in teaching and creating an opportunity to focus on their own research, center director Nicole Murry said.

“I feel like it’s a really wonderful way to support faculty, but in the end, students will ultimately benefit,” Murry said.  

Nursing senior Morgan Miller said she hopes the nursing school continues to add programming because she would like more real world experience. 

She said she would love to see more practical coursework, such as charting or medical ethics classes, but the centers represent a step in the right direction.

“UT nursing is doing a good job,” Miller said. “Our professors advocate for us and for the school so much.”