University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing Dean David Vlahov Steps Down

After five years serving as Dean of the School of Nursing at UC San Francisco (UCSF), David Vlahov, RN, PhD, will be stepping down at the end of August. He plans to continue serving as a member of the faculty, focusing on research and mentoring. UCSF is one of the nation’s preeminent nursing schools and under his leadership the School of Nursing has launched innovative education programs, ranked as a top graduate school, and advanced its research activity, including securing funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Vlahov first joined UCSF in April 2011, when he became the first male dean of the School of Nursing. His career at UCSF was preceded by rich experience in New York that established him as an expert in the field of epidemiology, infectious diseases, substance abuse, and mental health. One of Vlahov’s top priorities at UCSF was establishing a framework for nursing that reflected global health trends and reforms in health care, resulting in the creation of the Center for Global Health and new programs in Haiti and Mexico.

Other significant contributions during Vlahov’s service as Dean included the revival of education programs, planning for new ones, and launching several new minors. One of his educational innovations was offering a new minor in palliative care and another in diabetes. The School of Nursing also launched an online Master’s degree program in Health Administration and Interprofessional Leadership, followed by the reopening of the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner program. UCSF is also on track to launched a post-master’s Doctor of Nursing Program in 2017 after Vlahov’s departure as Dean.

Research at the UCSF School of Nursing excelled during Vlahov’s tenure as Dean. They have consistently been a top recipient of NIH funding and continued to increase grant amounts for researchers at the school. Researchers received a grant of $8.35 million from the NIH in 2011, which increased 68 percent to $14.01 million by 2016, to fund studies in symptom management, alarm fatigue, and drug intervention. The School of Nursing’s scope of research has received significant acclaim, with two faculty members being inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in 2013 and 2015.

Vlahov credits his long career in nursing and public health to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. Being born and raised in Washington, DC, Vlahov attended the historic event and says it made him want to spend his life working for social justice and serving people. Vlahov’s education began with a bachelor’s degree from Earlham College in Indiana in 1974 before receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Maryland in 1980. He then went on to earn a doctorate in epidemiology in 1988 from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.

After serving in various roles at Johns Hopkins while focusing on epidemiology, including an extensive study on HIV, Vlahov also went on to work at the New York Academy of Medicine, serve as an expert advisor to the World Health Organization, and serve for a number of other research and epidemiology programs. Vlahov is proud of the work he has done with his colleagues and students, and grateful to the UCSF community for inspiring him and helping him to make great strides in advancing the roles of nurses in the clinical setting.