Faculty Members Transition to Leadership Positions

This fall, three faculty members, Dr. Lori Dambaugh, Dr. Colleen Donegan, and Dr. Melissa Goodwin, were appointed to leadership positions within their respective Schools.

Dambaugh was named associate dean for undergraduate affairs in the Wegmans School of Nursing, where she provides leadership in planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of all undergraduate academic programs within the School. Prior to this role she served as co-chair of the Undergraduate Department of Nursing.

Dambaugh began at Fisher in fall 2012, and has taught pathophysiology/pharmacology and medical/surgical nursing in the undergraduate department for the past ten years. She also served as the clinical nurse specialist program director and taught seminars in the graduate program.

Dambaugh has been in clinical practice at Rochester General Hospital for nearly 25 years, working as both a clinical nurse specialist and staff nurse. She currently works in clinical practice on a medical step-down unit. She is active in professional organizations and has served as the president of the local chapter of the American Association of Clinical Care Nurses. In addition, she holds national certifications as a progressive care certified nurse and an acute care clinical nurse specialist and has presented research at local and national conferences.

Donegan is now serving as associate dean for graduate affairs in the School of Nursing. She has worked in nursing education for 15 years, serving in faculty and academic leadership experiences at the University of Rochester School of Nursing and Roberts Wesleyan College Department of Nursing. She joined the faculty at the Wegmans School of Nursing in 2013, and after a year, took on the responsibilities of the graduate program chair. She has also served as a nurse practitioner for 28 years, working at several hospitals in the region.

As graduate program chair, she has been responsible for the day to day operation of the graduate nursing program.  In addition, we have added three new Advance Practice Nursing/Nurse Practitioner programs of study, including the adult gerontology acute and primary care, and psychiatric nurse practitioner programs, and in fall 2021, saw the launch of the first online graduate pathway through 2U.  

Her community engagement has been focused on her role as chair of the board for Patrick Place, a comfort care home in Scottsville. 

Goodwin is the associate dean for curriculum and instruction in the School of Arts and Sciences and director of the Core Curriculum for the College. In these roles, she is responsible for continued implementation and monitoring of the general education Core Curriculum, as well as directing and overseeing curricular activities of the School of Arts and Sciences. Additionally, she is responsible for leading initiatives supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the School of Arts and Sciences, including those embedded in the new Core Curriculum.

Prior to this role, Goodwin was chair of the Department of Psychology for six years, where she has been on faculty for 15 years. Goodwin currently serves as the social science researcher for a National Science Foundation S-STEM grant. She is also a certified meditation instructor and regularly teaches classes on mindfulness and meditation in the Department of Psychology as well as for departments on campus.

Goodwin holds a bachelor’s degree in both psychology and exercise science, as well as a master’s degree in psychology from Concordia University Chicago. She earned her Ph.D. in human development from the University of Maryland, College Park.