New Interim Dean of Nursing Sets Goals for the Program

MC announces Dr. Lisa Eichelberger as the interim Dean of Nursing.

Early in the 2024 spring semester, students and faculty of the Mississippi College School of Nursing said their farewells to former dean Dr. Kimberly Sharp. MC Provost and Executive Vice President Mike Highfield has hired former School of Nursing dean, Dr. Lisa Eichelberger, as current interim dean. Both Eichelberger and Highfield have goals in mind for the School of Nursing.

Sharp, who served as the dean for almost a decade, announced her leave during the first week of the spring semester. “I appreciate Dr. Sharp’s leadership of the School of Nursing over the past nine years,” said Highfield. “Under her caring watch, the School of Nursing has continued to produce outstanding graduates who elevate the institution and nursing profession.” 

After Sharp’s departure, Highfield appointed School of Nursing assistant professor and chair, Dr. Rick Lewis, to teach Sharp’s classes and fill the role of acting dean for the school. “Whenever I heard the news that she was stepping down, my first thing was to go into triage mode and try to make sure that I identified somebody as fast as possible to move into a permanent position,” Highfield said. “In the meantime, I knew that there were issues that had to be dealt with just to keep the institution running, and so I called upon Rick Lewis to handle that.”

It was not long before Dr. Lisa Eichelberger was contacted by Highfield to become the interim dean of the School of Nursing. 

Eichelberger has 23 years of experience as the nursing school’s dean; she served as the dean of MC’s School of Nursing from 1987 to 1995. Aside from working as a nurse, she was one of 10 nurses inducted into the Georgia Nursing Hall of Fame in 2022 and was chosen to be one of 60 visionary leaders to be recognized for their exemplary leadership, innovation, and impact at the University of Alabama’s School of Nursing in 2010.

After being contacted by Highfield, Eichelberger moved back to Mississippi to spend more time with her family while figuring out her next move. “I said, ‘Lord, What do you want me to do next?’” Eichelberger recalled. “I prayed hard that he would show me what I was supposed to do next, and I wasn’t sure what that was, but I knew that I would figure it out. I then got a phone call from the provost, asking if I could come and talk to him about coming back home to Mississippi College.”

In her first week, she got to know new faculty members and changes to the program since her departure in 1995. She met with each faculty member to hear about their ideas for improving the nursing school. “I want them to see that I am responsive to them and that I will listen to them,” Eichelberger said.

“My sole goal is to do everything I can to get this program where it needs to be for the next leader to come in,” Eichelberger said. 

Although her position mostly involves daily management of the School of Nursing, Eichelberger is already preparing for summer and fall classes and admitting the new class of nursing students. Eichelberger also wants to increase the program’s outreach and advertising initiatives in the hopes of increasing enrollment. 

“Nursing is such a wonderful career and the need for nurses is so acute – not just the need here in Mississippi but everywhere,” Eichelberger explained. “We need nurses desperately, so we want to get out there and talk about the advantages of being a nurse and recruit more people to come to our nursing program.”

Highfield has similar goals and plans in mind for the nursing program. “My main goal is to help grow the nursing program,” he said. “We used to have a much larger nursing program than we currently have … We have a lot of competition, and so my goal is to make sure to find a way to protect the nursing program and help it continue its excellence.”

Highfield hopes to add additional nursing programs and expand its campus by the school’s bicentennial in 2026.