Carrie McDermott, a nationally recognized leader, scholar and educator, has been named executive director of the College of Education and Health Professions' Eleanor Mann School of Nursing.

McDermott also assumed the George M. and Boyce W. Billingsley Endowed Chair in Nursing when she joined the college on July 16.

"We are excited to have found a nationally renowned leader with the operational and visionary skills to lead the largest nursing school in the state," said Dean Kate Mamiseishvili. "We are thrilled to have Dr. McDermott on our executive team and look forward to working with her and our nursing faculty to take the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing to new heights."

McDermott joined the U of A from Emory University, where she most recently served as corporate director of academic practice integration and partnerships at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. She has been the principal or co-principal investigator on over $6 million in grants funded through agencies such as the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. 

Her role as a nursing educator has been recognized by prestigious awards such as the Woodruff Health Educators Academy Teaching Fellowship, Georgia Nurse of the Year for Excellence in Nursing Education and the Heart of the Students' Award from Emory University School of Nursing. In 2024, she was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing for her "substantial and sustained impact on health and health care," which is the highest honor that can be bestowed on nurse leaders.

"I'm excited to begin my role as the executive director for EMSON, a nursing program that is known for excellence in nursing education, in a role that allows me to contribute to strengthening the nursing profession, building the nursing workforce by educating the nurses of the future," McDermott said.

She's also excited to discover the many ways EMSON can continue to serve Northwest Arkansas and the state. She plans to reach out to regional nursing leaders to explore opportunities for innovative partnerships with healthcare systems in the community.

"Academic-practice partnerships can be transformative for healthcare systems while also enriching nursing students' clinical experiences," she said.

McDermott's career has spanned many nursing specialties and leadership roles over the past 40 years. When she first started out, she was focused on critical care and cardiovascular nursing. Then her eyes were opened to a whole range of opportunities in the field. "Students considering nursing should know that it's a very flexible career within a very dynamic industry," McDermott said. "With constant innovation in healthcare, a graduate nurse's career objective upon graduation does not necessarily predict their destination. Nurses today have many opportunities to choose from as the healthcare landscape continually changes. Every opportunity in nursing is an opportunity to have an impact on the lives of the people and families in your community."

At this stage of McDermott's nursing journey, she is passionate about educating student nurses to successfully transition from new graduates into the field and to have thriving careers as members of the most trusted profession.

Prior to her corporate director position at Emory, McDermott held multiple leadership roles, including co-director of the InEmory MN Program, director of the nurse residency programs at Emory Healthcare and director of professional practice at Centura Health.

"In all her roles, she has been highly effective in promoting competency-based education, acquiring accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, leading large healthcare systems and building academic-practice partnerships, which makes her incredibly well-suited to lead our nursing school," Mamiseishvili said.

While at Emory University, McDermott taught and coordinated various courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and her effectiveness as an instructor was consistently rated highly. She also mentored the scholarly projects of multiple Doctor of Nursing Practice students.

McDermott is skilled at using technology and interactive learning activities to engage students with content in meaningful ways. Her teaching philosophy is guided by the belief that students learn better when they have opportunities to reflect and make meaning through experiences.

In addition to McDermott's accomplishments in teaching and mentorship, she has demonstrated high-quality impact with her research. In the past five years, she has published more than a dozen peer-reviewed journal articles and delivered 18 national and state and regional presentations.

McDermott, who's originally from Kansas City, Missouri, said she's thrilled to now be on the historic U of A campus and is already enjoying living in Northwest Arkansas. "It's great to be close to my family again, and the people of Arkansas are so friendly, I know I will enjoy living here," she said.

Marilou Shreve served as interim executive director of the nursing school for the past year. She will return to nursing faculty.

"Dr. Shreve has provided collaborative, steady and strong leadership to EMSON, and I am sincerely grateful for her partnership," Mamiseishvili said.