Brie Gertler, interim executive vice president and provost, and Dr. Mitchell Rosner, chief executive officer of U.Va. Health and executive vice president for health affairs, wrote to the School of Nursing community Tuesday morning to announce Nursing Dean Dr. Marianne Baernholdt will be stepping down from her role. Baernholdt’s resignation is effective immediately, according to a statement from University Spokesperson Bethanie Glover, and Medical Center Nursing Professor Dr. Jeanne Alhusen will serve as interim dean.
“We are writing to share that Marianne Baernholdt has decided to step down from her role as Dean of the School of Nursing,” Gertler and Rosner’s email reads. “We are grateful to Marianne for her many contributions to the School and the University.”
Baernholdt served as dean for four years. In the role, she expanded the Accelerated Bachelors of Science in Nursing Program, developed a hybrid BSN-DNP program, increased community engagement initiatives including its Mobile Care Unit and exceeded Honor the Future campaign goals set for the School. The School also celebrated its 125th anniversary this year, and much of the past four years have included high stakes federal policy decisions and compliance reporting.
Gertler and Rosner’s email states that Baernholdt will embark on a research sabbatical following her departure, though it remains unclear what exactly she will be researching. Glover said the University does not comment on matters involving personnel.
Alhusen, who will serve as interim dean, began as an associate professor and assistant dean of research for the Nursing School in 2015, and she has served as a professor and the associate dean for research since 2020. According to her biography on the School’s website, Alhusen conducts research to improve maternal mental health. The biography also states that Alhusen’s research has helped inform federal guidelines, including recommendations for intimate partner violence and perinatal depression prevention in the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
Baernholdt’s resignation comes as part of a wave of leadership turnover at U.Va. Health. In June, there were at least six ongoing searches to fill permanent leadership positions. Also this summer, Ian Solomon, former dean of the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, stepped down from his role Aug. 2 to become the president and chief executive officer of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Additionally during Bernholdt's term as dean, the University entered an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in October. The School of Nursing has been named in the ensuing compliance reports sent to the Department as part of the agreement. The first report submitted in December detailed changes in the School’s admissions practices to remove references to race and discontinue the School’s holistic admissions process. The report also stated that the School “remove[d] questions or criteria assessing candidates on their promotion of diversity or similar concepts” in faculty and tenure evaluation materials.
However, in February, School of Nursing faculty expressed that the first compliance report included an error regarding the School’s faculty and tenure evaluation practices. Nursing Professor Kimberly Acquaviva and Dominique Tobbell, Nursing professor and director of the Eleanor Crowder Bjoring Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry, told VPM News in February that diversity had not been part of the evaluations or promotion process during their times on the School’s Promotion and Tenure Committee.
The Cavalier Daily also contacted Baernholdt, and she did not respond to request for comment by the time of publication.
Lauren Seeliger is a news editor of the 137th term and enjoys covering U.Va. Health and University governance. Lauren is a fourth-year Behavioral Neuroscience student from Fairfield, Connecticut.
Grace Little is a news editor for the 137th term. She is a third-year student from Dallas, Texas majoring in Neuroscience and the Interdisciplinary Major in Public Policy, Politics and Media Studies. She enjoys writing about the shifting landscape of higher education.
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