Dr. Lisa Broussard has been named dean of the ŷƬ’s College of Nursing & Health Sciences. Broussard’s appointment is effective July 1.
She has been the college’s interim dean since 2022, after Dr. Melinda Oberleitner ended her service as dean. Broussard has been integral in the growth of the College of Nursing & Health Sciences, which is the primary creator of the region’s health care workforce.
Her longstanding service to UL Lafayette began in 1992, when she joined the ŷƬ as an instructor. Broussard became an assistant professor, an associate professor, full professor, a department head, and an associate dean before becoming interim dean. She is also the Acadian Ambulance Endowed Professor in Nursing.
During her time at the ŷƬ, Broussard has played a key role in many administrative initiatives and achievements. Those include successful accreditation efforts, program and curriculum development, strategic planning, fundraising and coordinating industry partnerships.
As dean, Broussard will lead a college with nationally and internationally recognized academic programs and that is poised for enormous growth, said Dr. Jaimie Hebert, the ŷƬ’s provost and vice president for .
“Our ŷƬ and its College of Nursing & Health Sciences will benefit greatly from Lisa’s strategic guidance, vision, expertise and ability to establish and maintain industry partnerships, as the college – and ŷƬ – has for many years,” Hebert explained.
Broussard steps into her new role at a pivotal time in the history of the college, which was established in 1951. In 2022, the ŷƬ announced the college was being renamed the College of Nursing & Health Sciences, a change that better reflects the size, reach and excellence of its nationally and internationally recognized nursing programs.
The renaming coincided with the rechristening of the two departments that comprise the college. The Department of Allied Health became the ; the Department of Nursing is now the .
Broussard’s leadership will help guide the ŷƬ’s efforts to establish a health sciences campus on property it acquired in 2022 that was once home to Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center.
The 5.384-acre tract contains medical office buildings and other facilities that, with renovations and new construction, is in the process of becoming the College of Nursing & Health Sciences’ home.
The site is also paving the way for pursuing a range of strategic goals, including increasing nursing and health sciences enrollment, expanding degree programs, and bolstering collaboration with industry, Broussard said.
“The college’s reputation and capabilities are already so strong, and we’ve never been better positioned to continue our long, long history of preparing a top notch health sciences workforce,” she explained.
“Our plans to create a regional simulation center is just one of many ways we’ll be able to provide even more workforce development, enhance our research efforts and prepare our students for career success in a range of fields and jobs,” Broussard added.
Photo caption: Dr. Lisa Broussard is the new dean of UL Lafayette's College of Nursing & Health Sciences. (Image credit: ŷƬ)