Rosalie Mainous named dean of College of Nursing
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 14, 2022) — Rosalie Mainous, a Lexington native and University of Kentucky doctoral graduate, has been named the sixth dean of the UK College of Nursing. Upon approval from the Board of Trustees, Mainous will join UK on Nov. 14, 2022.
Mainous was selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellow in 2009, is emeritus faculty at University of Louisville and most recently served as special assistant to the provost at Texas Woman’s University (TWU) in Denton, Texas. She also previously served as dean of the TWU College of Nursing with oversight of three campuses in Denton, Dallas and Houston, Texas.
Mainous has held many leadership positions including director of academic nursing development at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN); former dean and professor at Wright State University-Miami Valley College of Nursing and Health in Dayton, Ohio; and former associate dean for graduate programs and research and former associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Louisville School of Nursing.
Along with a Ph.D. in nursing from UK, Mainous has a Master of Science in Nursing from Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from UofL.
She is a Distinguished Scholar and Fellow of the National Academies of Practice, a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
“Dr. Mainous has an impressive background as an academic administrator, clinician, educator and researcher,” said Provost Robert S. DiPaola. “She is a proven and experienced leader with a vision to advance the College of Nursing and strive to meet the goals of our strategic plan’s mission to advance Kentucky. We are pleased to welcome her to the UK family.”
Mainous is a neonatal nurse practitioner and a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded researcher. She has worked diligently to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities in those most vulnerable among us — preterm infants. Her scholarship has scanned biobehavioral clinical research, work on incivility, readiness to practice in new BSN graduates, policy initiatives related to maternal access to care, curriculum design, support for new deans and academic rigor for practice doctorates.
”I am honored to be selected as the next dean of the College of Nursing at the University of Kentucky. Higher education is calling for innovation and UK has always been a leader in this respect,” Mainous said. “There is an urgent need to develop more nurses with a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives in the state of Kentucky that are able to address inequities of health.
“Leading nationally in both practice and research, and with the first D.N.P. program in the nation and first Ph.D. program in the state, I am thrilled to be offered the opportunity to continue this tradition.”
Mainous is succeeding Janie Heath, Ph.D., who is retiring from UK after having served as dean of the college since 2014.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.