Ellen Olshansky has been named founding director of UC Irvine's new program in nursing science in the College of Health Sciences, effective July 1, 2007.

Olshansky will come to UC Irvine from the University of Pittsburgh where she was professor and chair of health and community systems in the School of Nursing, which is rated among the top 10 nursing schools nationally.

"Ellen brings the experience, leadership and enthusiasm to the important job of building a unique and progressive nursing science program that will address the growing need for highly educated nurses in California and for future faculty in this field," said Dr. David N. Bailey, vice chancellor of health affairs. "We are proud and excited that she is joining UC Irvine Health Sciences."

Established in 2005, the program in nursing science is a part of the UC Irvine College of Health Sciences. The undergraduate and graduate programs will train students for educational, administrative and research positions in the health care industry and at academic institutions. Students were first accepted in the 2006-07 academic year, and more than 100 students are currently enrolled in the undergraduate program.

Olshansky has more than 30 years experience in nursing as an administrator, researcher and practitioner, and she is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. In addition to her position at Pittsburgh, she has held academic appointments at the University of Washington and Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, where she was associate dean of the graduate nursing program.

Olshansky's research focuses on depression and infertility in women, and she has been involved with several studies looking at a diverse array of health science topics, ranging from diabetes to patient participation in clinical trials. She is editor of the Journal of Professional Nursing, the official journal of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and is the incoming chair of the expert panel on women's health of the American Academy of Nursing.

"I am thrilled to join such a dynamic university in this exciting new endeavor," Olshansky said. "With the acute shortage of both clinical nurses and nursing faculty, our new program in nursing science will meet a critical need. I look forward to working collaboratively with my new colleagues at UC Irvine and with the nursing and health care community in Orange County and beyond."

After earning a bachelor's degree in social work from UC Berkeley, Olshansky received bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in nursing science from UC San Francisco.

Olshansky also will be a professor of nursing science. She will earn an annual base salary of $190,000. Other compensation information is available upon request.

For more information about the program in nursing science, see: www.cohs.uci.edu/nursing.

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