Dr. Dena Evans Named Director of the School of Nursing

Dr. Dena Evans is the newly appointed Director of the UNC Charlotte School of Nursing and an associate professor. Over her academic career, Dr. Evans has worked for both the North Carolina Community College and North Carolina University systems. Her professional interests include working with diverse student populations from rural, underserved areas of North Carolina, to ensure program success, as well as identifying non-cognitive variables which can be used to determine student success. Dr. Evans has received and/or managed multiple grants focused on providing student support initiatives, using the social determinants of health as a guiding framework.

More recently, she has focused on the role of civility, inclusivity, resilience and emotional intelligence, in mitigating student attrition. Dr. Evans serves on multiple state and national committees focusing on nursing leadership and advancing nursing policy initiatives to promote the health of citizens in North Carolina. She holds an Ed.D. in adult education from North Carolina State University, as well as a master’s degree in public health and one in nursing from UNC Chapel Hill.