Announcing Hilaire Thompson to serve as Executive Dean
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Hilaire Thompson will serve as the next executive dean of the School of Nursing, effective Aug. 1, pending approval by the Board of Regents.
Dr. Hilaire Thompson
Dr. Thompson, a registered nurse and nurse practitioner, is a Professor in Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Informatics in the UW School of Nursing, core faculty at the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center and an adjunct professor in Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education in the UW School of Medicine. As a UW faculty member since 2006, she has held several leadership roles, including graduate program director for the School of Nursing. Through that position, she developed collaborative relationships and held budgetary and human resource responsibilities as well as delegated responsibilities from the associate dean for academic affairs. Since 2021, she has served as an associate vice provost in the Office of Academic Personnel in the Provost’s Office.
Dr. Thompson earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Mary Washington College in Virginia and her accelerated bachelor’s of science in nursing from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and completed her postdoctoral work at the UW.
She spent six years at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals, with a focus on neuroscience and critical care nursing, while earning her master’s degree as a clinical nurse specialist and a post-master’s nurse practitioner certificate. During this time, Dr. Thompson met nurse scientists doing bench research, and she became intrigued with this pathway as it combined her interests in biology and nursing.
Funded by support from the National Institutes of Health, the Center for Disease Control and foundation awards, Dr. Thompson’s research centers on improving outcomes following geriatric traumatic brain injury, as well as fall prevention. This work has been recognized with induction into Sigma’s International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame, fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing, and membership in the Washington State Academy of Sciences.
As executive dean, Dr. Thompson will lead the nursing programs on each UW campus and the accreditation process that integrates all three, ensure faculty and student recruitment, development and success in all aspects of the mission of the School of Nursing, and align the resources and finances of the School in support of these goals
Dr. Thompson brings incredible knowledge of and dedication to the UW School of Nursing to this leadership role, as well as a comprehensive understanding of the profession and the opportunities for the School to advance its history of excellence across the tri-campus system.
Thank you to the search committee, co-chaired by Sharon Jones, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at UW Bothell, and Andre Ritter, dean of the School of Dentistry, for identifying three exceptionally strong finalists, which reflects the School’s prominence and reputation. We would also like to express our deep gratitude to Dr. Allison Webel for her exemplary service as the School’s interim executive dean during the last academic year, including her leadership of the accreditation review for the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program and the Post-Graduate APRN Certification Program.
We look forward to welcoming Dean Thompson to her new role later this summer.