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Insights Magazine 2025

Dean's Message

MESSAGE FROM DEAN MARLA DE JONG

For generations, the University of Utah College of Nursing has pioneered health care by driving innovation; creating and testing new health care delivery models; and optimizing outcomes for patients, families, and communities. Our students, staff, and faculty have worked together to design, lead, and achieve improvements not just for the populations of today, but for generations to follow.

We are proud of a 77-year history full of achievements worth celebrating. At the same time, we recognize the ongoing needs of patients, health systems, and communities. Responding with purpose, we are preparing the next generation of expert nursing, gerontology, and health care leaders.

With more than $64 million in active funding, our faculty are making discoveries that make a tangible difference in people’s lives. We’re proud to be ranked #17 nationally for grant funding from the National Institutes of Health. Our research investigates urgent health priorities with bold innovation.

From expanding access to specialized cancer care in rural Utah and helping children with cancer express their symptoms to addressing the social needs of patients and families, improving pain management without opioids, uncovering how sleep can boost heart and metabolic health in women, and reducing pain while increasing physical function for Veterans with Gulf War illness, our work reflects our deep commitment to improving lives through science. 

We are transforming education by preparing nurses and gerontologists to lead with skill, serve with compassion, and rise to meet expanding challenges. This fall, our faculty across undergraduate and graduate programs are unveiling bold new curricula shaped by updated national standards, informed by emerging scientific breakthroughs, and attuned to evolving needs. By delivering education in new ways, we remove barriers, open access for more students, and improve student outcomes. Utah needs more nurses to provide the quality care that every patient deserves. We are committed to meeting that demand.

Our faculty and staff clinicians are shaping the future of nursing while meeting the immediate needs of patients and communities across Utah and beyond. They bring knowledge and science to life through their practice and teaching, model excellence through patient encounters and scholarly pursuits, and mentor students to work at the full scope of their license. By creating interdisciplinary learning experiences, forming new clinical partnerships, and expanding our footprint across seven health care specialties, our clinicians equip students with the competencies, confidence, and critical thinking they need to thrive while also allowing us to increase enrollment in our academic programs.

As educators, researchers, and clinicians, we are focused on having a lasting impact on patients, communities, and health care systems. The College of Nursing unifies and inspires scientists, educators, and students to design, lead, and achieve equitable care for the well-being of all, now and for generations to come.