Dean Rooda takes on challenges of newly combined unit

The School of Nursing and Health Professions is a combined unit formed by the merger between allied health, dental education and the School of Nursing.

“This natural merger of nursing, allied health and dental education into one unit will positively impact the health care industry of northwest Indiana, while at the same time promoting that aspect of the ‘Shared Vision’ of IU Northwest which speaks to the health and well-being of the seven-county region,” said Rooda.

During her years at IU Northwest, beginning in 1972, Rooda has held numerous appointments including chair of the IU Northwest Faculty Organization, and has served as co-chair of the coordinating committee for the “Shared Vision” process for IU Northwest. Moreover, she has published numerous journal articles and presented at several regional and national conferences.

One of the major challenges Rooda faces in this new position is becoming familiar with the operations of and budgets for all the programs offered in allied health and dental education.

“Like the School of Nursing, each program has its own accreditation cycle,” said Rooda. Maintaining accredited programs is essential in the health professions and is an ongoing process for faculty and program directors.

“An additional challenge is how to best meet the needs of the health-care providers of the region for qualified graduates in times of fiscal constraint,” she said. “There is a 100 percent employment rate for the graduates of all the health-care programs, indicating the desire of health-care agencies to employ graduates of IU Northwest.

Rooda’s primary goal this year is to continue to seek creative ways of involving area health-care agencies in sharing the fiscal responsibility of providing qualified graduates.

“Currently, area hospitals help defray the costs of these program offerings through joint appointments, preceptors and other in-kind contributions,” she said. “I may be asking them to do more. I believe the role of an administrator in the current budgetary situation is to seek alternative ways of financing programs—particularly programs that are so essential to the health and well-being of the region.”

Rooda’s professional expertise has been recognized by several honors including the recent IU Founders Day presentation of the Herman Frederic Lieber Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching, the IUN Campus Founders Day Award for Teaching Excellence and the IU School of Nursing’s Lois C. Meier Teaching Excellence Award.