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Karen Pardue, Ph.D., RN, CNE, ANEF, interim dean of the College of Westbrook Health Professions and professor in the Department of Nursing, recently published her fifth paper as the lead author/co-author of a series of eight papers that explores contemporary academic leadership. The latest paper in the series, “Becoming a nurse faculty leader: Taking risks by being willing to fail,” of which Pardue was lead author, was recently published in the journal Nursing Forum.

Pardue’s research team, including five other colleagues from across the country, interviewed 23 nationwide faculty leaders to learn about their experiences of becoming  leaders in nursing and higher education. 

The series of published papers resulting from the research examines the process of becoming a faculty leader and advances a model explicating practices that support effectual leadership. A visual of the model has been published in two different formats and has been presented orally at two academic leadership conferences.

According to Pardue, the collective work of the team has identified four major themes: being thrust into or taking on a leadership role, facing challenges, advancing reform/change, and taking risks. The last theme includes three sub-themes: doing your homework, doing the right thing, and being willing to fail. The final theme is the focus of the most recent paper, which focuses on the experience of leadership risk taking and failure and offers practical advice and evidence to support leaders in taking risks during these challenging times in higher education.

To learn more about the Westbrook College of Health Professions, visit www.une.edu/wchp

To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions