Laurie Badzek Named Dean of Penn State College of Nursing

Laurie A. Badzek, professor of nursing and director of the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), has been named dean of Penn State’s College of Nursing, effective July 1. Badzek is a nurse, attorney, and educator who specializes in genomics, health care ethics and law, nursing practice, and end-of-life care and decision making.

Throughout her career, Badzek has been a champion for improving patient care through nursing policy, practice, and education. As dean of Penn State’s College of Nursing, Badzek will oversee educational programs serving undergraduate and graduate students at 12 campuses and online. Badzek will also lead the college’s research enterprise, including end-of-life care, and child and adolescent health.

Nicholas Jones, executive vice president and provost of Penn State, tells News.PSU.edu, “With her extensive expertise in health care, law and higher education, Laurie Badzek is an outstanding choice to be the next dean of Penn State’s College of Nursing. Her leadership on ethical and human rights issues and staunch advocacy regarding nursing education, policy and practice will enable the college and its faculty and students to achieve new levels of academic and research excellence.”

Before joining UNCW, Badzek taught nursing, ethics, law and health policy at West Virginia University where is an emeritus professor. She has also combined her health care and legal expertise to help draft state legislation and has conducted research with the National Institutes of Health, National Human Genome Research Institute, and National Cancer Institute.

Badzek was a nurse in West Virginia for more than 30 years, and is currently a registered nurse in North Carolina and Florida, and a member of the West Virginia Bar Association. To learn more about Laurie Badzek’s nursing career and new role as dean of the Penn State College of Nursing, visit here.