Dr. Greta G. Cummings
The University of Alberta Board of Governors has appointed Dr. Greta Cummings to a five-year term as dean of the Faculty of Nursing, effective July 1, 2017. Dr. Cummings joined the Faculty of Nursing 13 years ago, becoming a full professor in 2010. She currently holds a Centennial Professorship (2013-2020), one of our university's highest honours.
Dr. Cummings is a nationally and internationally recognized researcher in nursing leadership to improve outcomes for healthcare staff and patients. She was named to the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame by the Sigma Theta Tau International Honour Society of Nursing in 2015, and is a fellow of both the American Academy of Nursing and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. In 2014, Thomson Reuters named her Highly Cited Researcher-Social Sciences.
She has led numerous multi- and inter-disciplinary initiatives as a healthcare administrator, academic health systems researcher, and health services workforce consultant. Since joining the Faculty of Nursing in 2004 Dr. Cummings has studied, taught, and led large teams implementing strategic initiatives in a wide-range of areas, including leadership, organizational change, models of health care delivery, program planning, interdisciplinary transitions in care delivery, governance, legislation, and workforce trends. She believes that the best interdisciplinary programs consist of strong disciplines who are confident in their contributions to the overall team's mission and respectful and supportive of others' contributions.
Over the course of her career, she has been responsible for managing large clinical programs across numerous healthcare facilities, and negotiating collective agreements from both the employer and staff representative perspectives. She was the Registrar of the Alberta Association of Registered Nurses (now CARNA) from 1997 to 2000.
Dr. Cummings also brings extensive international and national leadership experience. She served as President of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care (2010-2014), President, Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology (2005-2007), and board member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2012-2014), and the CIHR Institute Advisory Board for Research Excellence, Ethics and Policy (2016-2020).