Dorrie K. Fontaine Appointed Dean of School of Nursing
Date released: 15 May 2008
CONTACT:Dory Hulse
Director of Communications
434-924-0085 or doryhulse@virginia.edu
DORRIE K. FONTAINE TO BECOME DEAN OF UVA SCHOOL OF NURSING
An enthusiastic burst of spontaneous applause greeted Dorrie Fontaine as she entered the lobby of McLeod Hall for the official announcement of her appointment to succeed Jeanette Lancaster as Dean of the University of Virginia School of Nursing. The warm welcome came from an eager gathering of nursing faculty, staff and students along with Medical Center nurses and doctors and officials from across Grounds. Members of the School of Nursing Advisory Board and the Health System Foundation Board also were among the more than 100 people gathered as University President John T. Casteen III made the announcement.
The appointment follows a nationwide search triggered after Dean Lancaster announced her intention to step down as Dean after 19 years. She is the longest-tenured dean at the University, known to her peers as the “dean of deans.”
Dorrie Fontaine is currently associate dean for academic programs at the University of California-San Francisco School of Nursing. From 2003-04, she served as president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. She will undertake her new role as UVA nursing dean effective August 1, 2008.
For more details about the announcement ceremony and the newly appointed dean, visit www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=5086.