Earlier this month, Manhattan College named Shelley Johnson the first dean of its new School of Health Professions.
The nationally recognized leader in nursing education told the Bronx Times she’s excited to join the community of Manhattan College and provide students with a high education in the health care field. With decades of experience at Chamberlain, Lincoln, Rutgers and La Salle universities, Johnson said she is ready to provide the students of Manhattan College with “a diverse and inclusive learning environment where all students can thrive and meet the challenges that lie ahead,” and make yet another impact on a college community.
“I’m really excited about making innovative curricula,” Johnson said in an interview with the Bronx Times. “My goal is to bring high quality education that not only focuses on excellence and patient care but also an appreciation for teamwork and interdisciplinary care.”
The School of Health Professions launched last month, and its first programs will begin this fall.
Johnson says that her position as an academic leader is about more than just education, it’s also about being a role model to young Black women in the Bronx.
“During most of my educational experiences, I was the only or one of the few Black students present,” she said. “My mother was a nurse, who served as a missionary. Her example and her support of my education and career inspired my passion to combine nursing and education to serve the underprivileged and create nurses willing to help serve, advocate and treat all people, but especially the most vulnerable — which are usually people of color.”
Diversity in college faculty has increased in the area in recent years.
Like Manhattan College, Lehman College — a CUNY school located in Bedford Park — also named a Black woman as dean of the School of Health Professions. Elgoria Harrison has been in this position at Lehman College since August of 2020, and, like Johnson, has worked with undergraduate and graduate students in the nursing, social work, health sciences and speech-language-hearing sciences fields.
According to Johnson, so far Manhattan College has three overarching departments: Counseling and therapy, health care informatics, kinesiology and radiation therapy, and she is planning on adding nursing in the near future.
“We want students to think about the multiple opportunities there are in the health care field,” she said. “They don’t have to make decisions immediately.”
Johnson explained that throughout her many years of nursing experience — more than 17 years both in practice and in education according to the college website — she noticed that teamwork between all health departments was essential to success.
“Different health care professionals always work together,” she said. “We expect people to know how to work as a health care team when they enter the field, but this isn’t always the case.”
Johnson said that this realization has inspired her to use her position as dean of the School of Health Professions to create as many interdisciplinary programs as possible, in hopes of teaching students to create collaborative working spaces.
Alongside an emphasis on teamwork, Johnson explains that integrating discovery and experimentation into her curriculum is yet another one of her priorities. She explains that in the ever changing and growing field of health care, giving students numerous opportunities to discover all it has to offer is extremely important to truly find their passion.
Johnson said she wants to encourage her students, especially those with similar backgrounds to her own, in her new role.
“I hope that my presence as an educator and leader inspires Black and brown students to become highly skilled, confident leaders, who are able to function in any environment,” she said.
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