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About the School of Nursing

Thank you for your interest in Oakland’s School of Nursing. The School of Nursing prides itself on providing a high-quality education that will provide the best clinical experiences, job opportunities in the area’s best healthcare systems and access to faculty members who are leaders within the nursing profession. The School of Nursing also provides resources that may be available to assist with tuition expenses.

Welcome from  Dean Christopher Lance Coleman, Ph.D., MS, MPH, FAAN, FADLN, PMHCNS-BC

Dean of the School of Nursing

Thank you for visiting the Oakland University (OU) School of Nursing (SON) website and for considering OU’s nursing programs.

OU SON continues to develop opportunities for students who wish to pursue nursing as their new career or to advance their nursing education as a practicing nurse. As Dean of the OU SON, I am truly impressed by high-quality programs the SON offers in a diverse and inclusive environment.  The positive remarks I hear from the community about OU SON alumni is testimony to the quality of our programs and our graduates.

The University and School’s commitment to engage with communities as an essential part of the education process provides unique real-world learning experiences for its students. Faculty’s connectedness to the healthcare community provides opportunities for students to shape their interests as a generalist or a specialist as they pursue their degree or certification. The SON’s intent is to prepare nurse leaders at all levels of the healthcare environment to participate in the conversations centric to healthcare improvement for individuals and communities.

Whether you are interested in becoming a nurse or are already a nurse and want to advance your nursing career by earning your BSN or a graduate degree, our SON offers programs that will help you to meet your career goals. Our students have access to programs with dynamic instructors, rigorous curricula, a sophisticated learning lab, and clinical practice opportunities throughout the Detroit metro area’s top hospitals and facilities.

Our students are prepared to provide optimal care delivery within the complex and ever-changing healthcare industry as faculty delicately blend the art of science of nursing into the coursework.

The National Academy of Science’s recent publication: The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity emphasizes that the “decade ahead will test the nation’s nearly 4 million nurses in new and complex ways.” The document lays out the challenges ahead to address the vast disparities in healthcare and health outcomes for individuals in our regions and globally. We, at OU SON accept this challenge by offering contemporary curricula that address the barriers for healthy equity and embeds a constant consideration of how the conditions in the environments in which people live, impacts their health outcomes and quality of life in a positive or a negative manner. We prepare graduates to practice with a holistic approach.

I hope you consider OU for your nursing education. Our emphasis on leadership, theory, technology and practice prepares our graduates to perform in a variety of settings including hospital-based, community-based and home-based care. Our graduates’ footprints can be found at bedsides, in communities, on political platforms and in executive offices. Please join us and leave your footprints on Oakland’s campus as you begin your transformational nursing journey.

The Board of Visitors is an advisory body to the Oakland University School of Nursing. The specific purposes of the Board of Visitors are to provide counsel to the School of Nursing regarding its objectives, strategies, goals, curriculum and concerns; to promote the school in the community by creating awareness of its existence, supporting recruiting efforts and understanding of the services it renders; and to provide assistance in obtaining financial support from outside sources.

BOARD MEMBERS

Nina Abubakari MPH, MBA, JD, FACHE
Advantage Health Centers
President and CEO

Nina Barkell, DNP, RN, ACNS-BC
Oakland Community College
Nursing Department Chair and Nursing Faculty

Lynn Chiesa, RN, MSN, NE-BC
Ascension Michigan
Regional Chief Nursing Officer

Christopher Lance Coleman, PhD, MS, MPH, FAAN, PMHCNS-BC
Oakland University School of Nursing
Dean and Professor

Doug Dascenzo, DNP, RN, CENP
Trinity Health Michigan
Regional Chief Nursing Officer

Ann Donnelly, RN, BSN, MA
Priority Health
Vice President, Care Management

Debbie Guido-Allen, MBA, BSN, RN, NE-BC, FACHE
Corewell Health Dearborn Hospital
President

Lisa Hahn, MS, RN
Oakland County Health Division
Chief Community Nursing Programs

Amy Hamilton, MSN, RN
Detroit Medical Center
Group Chief Nursing Officer

Laura Harmon, DNP, ACNP-BC, CCRN
McLaren Oakland Hospital
Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer

Greg Jamian
Americare Medical, Inc.
President and Chief Executive Officer

Kyle Johns
Independent Bank
First Vice President

Jackie Long, RN, MSN
Former OU Trustee
School of Nursing Alumna, 1981

Nancy May, DNP, AMB-BC, NEA-BC, FAAN
Michigan Medicine
Chief Nurse Executive

Charlene Shaya, ESQ
J & B Medical
Chief Operating Officer

Anne Stewart, MBA, BSN, RN, NE-BC
Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital
Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer

Eric Wallis, DNP, MSA, RN, NE-BC, FACHE
Henry Ford Health
Senior Vice President Patient Care & System Chief Nursing Officer

School of Nursing Mission
The School of Nursing prepares innovative, caring, and competent nurse leaders committed to the health and well-being of individuals and communities through education, practice, and scholarship. 

School of Nursing Vision
The School of Nursing inspires nurses to have a sustained positive impact on the health of a diverse society through community partnerships and excellence in education.

Click here for our Learn to Help Others video on the School of Nursing.

The Human Health Building boasts of an environmentally-friendly design by virtue of its construction from renewable materials; advanced air quality and water conservation systems; and geothermal heating and cooling system, which aids in the reduction of carbon emissions and energy consumption and output.  Due to the success of these innovations, it was certified as Michigan's first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum University Building in 2013. 

 The HHB serves as the primary residence of Oakland University's School of Nursing and School of Health Sciences, and includes five stories of lecture, seminar, and lab-style classroom spaces designed to better facilitate the academic development of its tenants. ​The Oakland University School of Nursing Simulation Lab is a state-of-the-art facility that provides a rich experiential learning opportunity for students to integrate theory with practice. Our simulation scenarios allow students to make real-time clinical decisions in an environment that poses no risk to patients. The program promotes competency, confidence, and autonomy necessary to position our students for success upon transition to practice.

The Oakland University School of Nursing offers programs facilitated by dedicated faculty researchers, practicing clinicians and experienced nursing professionals with the latest technologies and evidence based practices.

The SON is recognized as one of the premier nursing schools in the Upper Midwest as well as by influential national publications like the US News and World Report. Because of our reputation in this region and beyond, the School of Nursing has been recognized by several national organizations.

School of Nursing

Human Health Building, Room 3027
433 Meadow Brook Road
Rochester, MI 48309-4452
(location map)
(248) 364-8733


M-F 8 a.m.-5 p.m. closed daily 12 p.m.-1 p.m.