After conducting a national search, UCF has named Sharon Tucker as the next dean of the College of Nursing. Tucker will begin her new role on Aug. 1 following the retirement of Dean Mary Lou Sole.
Tucker joined UCF last year as professor and chair of the Department of Nursing Practice after holding various leadership roles at The Ohio State University, including executive director of the Fuld Evidence-based Practice Institute and associate dean.
Her leadership experience, which spans two decades, also includes roles at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and the Mayo Clinic where she began her clinical career.
A distinguished scholar in psychiatric mental health nursing and evidence-based practice, a process that seeks to improve patient outcomes based on the most up-to-date knowledge and research, Tucker has made sustained impacts on nursing practice and patient outcomes.
Her research focuses on behavior change through mental health and wellness interventions and practice, and organizational change through evidence-based practice implementation science, practice, training and tools.
To date, she has more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, co-authored an evidence-based practice 2.0 article series in the American Journal of Nursing, and co-authored Evidence-Based Practice in Action (Second Edition.), which received an American Journal of Nursing book of the year award in 2022. Tucker also has been an invited speaker and panelist for presentations across the nation and around the world, and serves as associate editor for Worldviews on Evidence-based Nursing.
“Her deep background in clinical and academic leadership, combined with her passion for empowering nurses at every stage of their careers, makes her well-suited to lead the college into its next chapter,” says Michael D. Johnson, UCF provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
Recognizing her significant contributions to the profession, Tucker has been honored as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and as a distinguished fellow of the National Academies of Practice in Nursing.
Tucker is nationally board certified as an adult psychiatric-mental clinical nurse specialist and as an integrative nurse coach. She holds a Ph.D. from Rush University, a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, a bachelor’s degree from the College of Saint Teresa, and an associate degree from Rochester Community College. She is also a fellow of the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program, a three-year advanced leadership program to prepare nurses to lead at the highest level.
“The moment I met Dean Sole I knew UCF was the place I wanted to be,” Tucker says. “She is a humble leader who has made enormous contributions to UCF nursing, to nursing science and to Florida. I am tremendously honored and grateful for the opportunity to lead the college into the future and to continue the legacy work she has led.”
