ETSU appoints Dr. Dena Evans as dean of College of Nursing

After a national search, East Tennessee State University has named Dr. Dena Evans as dean of the College of Nursing.

Dena Evans, Ed.D., MPH, MSN, RN, CNL, CNE, currently serves as vice dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs at the University of South Florida College of Nursing. She will begin her new role at ETSU in January 2025.

“Dr. Evans emerged as the leading candidate from an exceptional pool of applicants,” said Dr. Kimberly D. McCorkle, ETSU provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. “We were deeply impressed by her vision for the college and her commitment to training nurses and nurse educators – and to the College of Nursing’s important role in providing care to underserved communities in our region. Her leadership and experience make her an outstanding fit for Tennessee’s largest college of nursing.”

She received her doctoral degree in Education (2010) from North Carolina State University and master’s degrees in Nursing (2014) and Public Health (2000) from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In 2019, Evans completed a fellowship with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s AACN-Wharton Executive Leadership Program.

She has earned numerous awards and honors for her teaching, research, and service, such as the Emerging Leaders Institute and the Niner Research Recognition Award. She has also served in local, state, and national leadership roles. Most recently, Dr. Evans was elected to chair the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education’s Nominating Committee.

Her research has focused on developing strategies to increase opportunities for disadvantaged and underrepresented students, enhancing their success, and fostering a more diverse workforce. Evans has served as principal investigator and co-investigator on local, state, and federal grants totaling over $6 million to remove access to education barriers, expand the nursing workforce and advance nursing’s role in achieving health equity.

“The ETSU College of Nursing is widely respected across the state, houses the Tennessee Center for Nursing Advancement, is part of a nationally recognized interprofessional education program and is critical to meeting the health care needs in Tennessee,” said ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland. “We are excited to have Dr. Evans join us in our mission to improve the quality of life for the people of our region and beyond.”

“I am deeply honored to lead the ETSU College of Nursing,” Evans said. “Having grown up in rural North Carolina, I have a profound appreciation for nursing’s role in addressing the unique needs of rural communities. I am eager to collaborate with our dedicated faculty, staff, students and community members to build upon the college’s outstanding reputation.”

As the largest college of nursing in Tennessee, ETSU is training more nurses to enter the workforce than any other institution in the state, with more than 500 graduates taking the NCLEX in 2023. That total is more than double that of the next largest school in Tennessee, which had 239 first-time test-takers.