Dr. Angela Clark Installed as the Maxine Clark and Bob Fox President of Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing

Angela Clark, PhD, RN, MSN, CNE, FAAN, was formally installed as the Maxine Clark and Bob Fox President of Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing at a ceremony in St. Louis on Dec. 14. Dr. Clark joined the College as president in May 2022.

Dozens of colleagues, leaders, friends, family members, and donors attended the chair installation hosted by The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Maxine Clark and Bob Fox, who established the endowed chair position in 2006 at the Foundation, also were in attendance.

During the installation ceremony, complete with academic regalia, Bob Cannon, BJC group president, praised Dr. Clark's achievements. "Dr. Clark brings a vision, passion, and focus on innovations that will further elevate the College and ensure tomorrow's health care work force is strong and ready to care for patients on day one. We're grateful for Maxine and Bob's investment in Barnes-Jewish College that has made a difference in the education of thousands of health care professionals and their patients and has been vital to our efforts to attract talented, passionate professionals like Dr. Clark."

Dr. Clark's distinguished career has evolved from bedside nursing to research to leadership, always with a focus on advocating for underserved populations and elevating the nursing profession. Dr. Clark is also a strong supporter for policy and practice change within nursing and across health care professions. Her research has included development of educational interventions related to the opioid epidemic.

"Dr. Clark's career-long dedication to community health and her advocacy for mental health in higher education and nursing align perfectly with BJC HealthCare's values," said John Lynch, MD, Barnes-Jewish Hospital president. "Her efforts in these areas are already making a tremendous impact on our college as well as on the St. Louis community."

Entrepreneur Maxine Clark, founder of Build-a-Bear Workshop and Delmar DivINe and current board chair at the College and Barnes-Jewish Hospital board member, recognized Dr. Clark's passionate leadership. "Our upward trends in enrollment and student success confirm the College's pathway is on course, and Dr. Clark is boldly leading the way on this," Maxine said. "She is driving innovation and fostering excellence in faculty, staff, and students, as well as research, technology, curriculum, and service."

Before joining the College in May 2022, Dr. Clark was the interim associate dean and executive director of undergraduate and prelicensure programs at the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing. During her tenure there, she was recognized for excellence in undergraduate research mentoring, faculty-to-faculty mentoring, and as the University's eLearning Champion.

Dr. Clark also held faculty positions at the University of Tennessee and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She earned her undergraduate and master's degrees in nursing from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a PhD in nursing from the University of Cincinnati. In addition, she has completed residency experiences with the National Institutes of Health and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and she is a recognized Apple Distinguished Educator actively participating in Apple educational initiatives and think tanks.

In 2020, Dr. Clark was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing as a Fellow.

"My goal as president of Barnes-Jewish College is to lead the path forward and create strong collaborations that will help us succeed in this new world of nursing education," Dr. Clark said. "We're able to move forward from a position of strength thanks to our valuable partnerships with BJC, Washington University School of Medicine, our board, our generous donors, and our stakeholders in the community. These partnerships are more important than ever as nursing education is experiencing a seismic shift."

Dr. Clark pointed out that mental health issues are increasing and profoundly impacting the quality of life, the ability to learn and engage, and the ability for nurses to provide patient care and to stay in the nursing workforce. As president of the College, Dr. Clark has developed strategies to address this national crisis.

"Nursing is a highly stressful role, so it's critical to ingrain self-care strategies for mental health and wellness in students now before they transition to the demanding clinical nursing role," she said.

For decades, Dr. Clark has been an advocate for mental health through her research and in higher education, and she continues championing for the mental health of students and the region from all angles. In 2022, she and her husband, Brandon, established a fund at The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital to support student mental health.

Another way she is addressing mental health is with the addition of a full-time mental health support dog at the College. The first official canine member of the College, Aston Martin—a yellow Labrador retriever—was introduced at Dr. Clark's chair installation.

"We made the decision to add Aston to be with us every day as part of our commitment to nurturing student mental health," Dr. Clark said. "And healthy, whole students will go forward and be strong, capable, and resilient nurses caring for the community."

Written by Joyce Romine

Pictured above: Dr. Angela Clark is installed as the Maxine Clark and Bob Fox President at Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing. L to R: Bob Fox; John Lynch, MD, Barnes-Jewish Hospital president; Angela Clark, PhD, RN, MSN, CNE, FAAN; Maxine Clark; and Bob Cannon, BJC HealthCare group president.