St. John Fisher College Appoints New Dean of the Wegmans School of Nursing

After a nationwide search, St. John Fisher College has appointed Tricia K. Gatlin, Ph.D., RN, CNE as the dean of the Wegmans School of Nursing. Gatlin’s appointment follows the retirement of Dr. Dianne Cooney Miner, founding dean of the School. Gatlin will begin at the College on July 1, when Cooney Miner will assume full-time the role of executive director of the College’s Golisano Institute for Developmental Disability Nursing.

“Dr. Gatlin’s demonstrated experience as a nursing leader in higher education, coupled with her commitment to teaching, scholarship, and service to her students, faculty, and the nursing profession, make her a great fit for our campus community. We are looking forward to welcoming her to Fisher and to the Wegmans School of Nursing,” said Dr. Gerard J. Rooney, president of the College.

Gatlin comes to Fisher from the School of Nursing at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) where she has served as associate professor/associate dean for undergraduate affairs and interim associate dean for graduate affairs since 2018. Prior to those roles, she was an assistant professor at the University for seven years.

Before her time at UNLV, she served as lecturer and instructor at the University of Portland’s School of Nursing from 2002-2011, and as clinical instructor at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, Oregon and Clark College in Vancouver, Washington.

Prior to joining academia, Gatlin practiced nursing in a variety of roles including staff nurse, charge nurse, rehabilitation nurse manager, and director of nursing at hospitals and health care centers around the country.

Currently, she serves as a committee member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Group of the American Association of College of Nursing, secretary of the Nevada Nurses Association, member of the Nevada State Board of Nursing Education Advisory Committee, board member and director of research and development of the Nevada Obstetrical Charity Clinic, and a community member of the Clark County Diabetes Group. In addition, she is a member of the American Nurses Association as a Nevada Nurses Associate, Sigma Theta Tau National Honor Society of Nursing – Zeta Kappa At Large Chapter, American Association of Diabetes Educators, National League for Nursing, and Sigma Theta Tau National Honor Society of Nursing – STTI.

Her research, which primarily focuses on diabetes and support for diabetic patients, has been published in a variety of medical journals. She has also presented and lectured at several regional, national, and international professional conferences.

Gatlin is a reviewer for several nursing publications including the International Journal of Nursing Studies, Biological Research for Nursing Journal, Asian/Pacific Island Nursing Journal, and Journal of Aging and Health.

She has been the recipient of several awards, most recently receiving a Certificate of Leadership Recognition from the Nevada Nurses Foundation and a Research Award from the Nevada Action Coalition. While at UNLV, she was awarded with the University’s Outstanding Team Award - Nurse Camp, Outstanding Research Award, and the Outstanding Teaching Award.

After earning her associate in arts degree in nursing at Dyersburg State Community College and her bachelor of science in nursing at the University of Memphis, Gatlin went on to obtain a master of science in nursing education at the University of Portland and a Ph.D. in nursing science at the University of Arizona.