The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing is proud to announce that Dean Eun-Ok Im, PhD, MPH, RN, CNS, FAAN, has been appointed to the Maureen Healy Decherd ’73 Distinguished Professorship in Nursing.
This prestigious endowed professorship recognizes Dean Im’s extraordinary career as a nursing scholar, researcher, educator and leader. An internationally renowned expert in global women’s health, Dean Im has dedicated her career to addressing disparities in health care—particularly among midlife women—and advancing innovative, ethical research methodologies in the digital age.
Over the course of more than two decades, Dean Im has served in prominent academic roles at leading institutions including the University of Wisconsin, UT Austin, the University of Pennsylvania, Duke University and Emory University. She returned to UT Austin School of Nursing as Dean in 2023 and holds the Laura Lee Blanton Chair in Nursing.
Her groundbreaking research has been continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health, where she has served as principal investigator on multiple major grants, including five R01s. She has authored approximately 450 scholarly works, including more than 250 refereed journal articles.
Dean Im’s national and international accolades include induction into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame, the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science Outstanding Nurse Scientist Award and the Oncology Nursing Society Distinguished Research Award. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Nursing and is the editor-in-chief of Advances in Nursing Science.
As Dean, she brings a wealth of experience in mentoring junior faculty and fostering a climate of academic excellence. The Maureen Healy Decherd ’73 Distinguished Professorship will further enable her to support the next generation of nurse leaders, scholars and change-makers.