Past Directors and Emeriti

I will always appreciate the opportunity I had to work at the School of Nursing and bring a historical lens to my teaching and scholarship. The support, goodwill and comradery extended to me over the years and the intense and rewarding experiences with my students will stay with me in the years to come.

Dr. Isabel MacRae

RN, PhD
First Director of the UVic School of Nursing:  1975-1979
Dr. MacRae planted the seeds for accessible distributed learning for nurses across Canada. By 1980, the UVic School of Nursing had developed its first credit nursing course using print, interactive cable, TV, and telephone to reach students across the province. Dr. MacRae was a visionary who introduced the principles of access to higher education for nurses who were mostly women. Today, over 4,000 nurses have graduated from the school’s Post RN Diploma Program throughout its 45-year history.
Dr. Dorothy Kergin

RN, PhD
Second Director of the UVic School of Nursing: 1980-1988
Dr. Kergin was well known for her exceptional work in nursing in Canada and internationally. She was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Jeanne Mance Award from the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) and the Ethel Johns Award from the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN). She was associate Dean of Health Sciences at McMaster University from 1970 to 1979, and Director of the School of Nursing at UVic from 1980 to 1988. During her tenure there, along with others, she further developed distance education programs for registered nurses, delivered via the newly established Knowledge Network.
Dr. Carolyn Attridge

RN, PhD
Third Director of the UVic School of Nursing: 1988-1992
Dr. Attridge completed her undergraduate education in nursing in 1957, at a time when it was highly unusual for nurses to be educated at a university. Dr. Attridge was instrumental in developing a partnership of Schools of Nursing that eventually made it possible for nurses to complete their baccalaureate degree in their own communities at a time when the degree was becoming the entry requirement for the practice of nursing.
Dr. Anita E. Molzahn

RN, PhD
Fourth Director of the UVic School of Nursing: 1992–1996
Dr. Molzahn became Director of the UVic School of Nursing in 1992, after an international search. Molzhan was instrumental in establishing the groundwork for the MN and PhD programs at the school. In 1992, the School of Nursing was involved in development of a collaborative nursing program with colleges and university colleges across the province. This initiative offered opportunities for more students to obtain a BSN in nursing and was aligned with the goals of the profession to require a degree as entry to practice. It also resulted in significant expansion of the faculty and staff complement of UVic School of Nursing.
Dr. Janet Storch

RN, PhD
Fifth Director of the UVic School of Nursing: 1996-2001
When Dr. Storch became Director of the School of Nursing, the baccalaureate degree as entry to practice was on the horizon. During her term, both the Registered Nurses Association of BC (RNABC) and the Ministry of Advanced Education united in their acceptance of a BSN degree as the entry-level credential. Dr. Storch was also instrumental in promoting and supporting collaboration among nursing programs. Also, as Director, a proposal for an Advanced Nursing Practice Masters Degree in nursing was submitted to the Ministry of Health; the proposal met with success and was approved in the next decade. In her post-Director days Dr. Storch has been fully involved in teaching ethics and nursing ethics in leadership and practice across Canada.
Dr. Mary Ellen Purkis

RN, PhD
Sixth Director of the UVic School of Nursing: 2001–2005
At that time Dr. Purkis assumed Directorship of the School of Nursing there were 9 colleges and UVic in partnership. That year, the province of BC approved a new qualification —the Applied Degree. Soon afterwards, two partner institutions located in the Lower Mainland notified UVic that they were intending to apply to offer an Applied Degree independent of UVic. Despite these challenging times, the school of nursing thrived, developing new graduate programs including a distance-based Family Nurse Practitioner Program, which was launched in 2004. Dr. Purkis then became the second female Dean of the Faculty of Human & Social Development from 2005 to 2015.
Dr. Noreen Frisch

RN, PhD
Seventh Director of the UVic School of Nursing: 2007–2015
During her tenure as Director of the School of Nursing, Dr. Frisch continued to represent the school’s commitment to service and innovation. Among many accomplishments, Dr. Frisch lead the Students on the Move project, an event to support the Royal Jubilee Hospital’s move to a new building, and expanded the NP, MN and PhD programs. She was a key leader and developer of InspireNet: BC’s nursing and health services research network which grew to connect over 5,000 members in a virtual learning community—something that led to networking capacities now used by the BC SUPPORT Unit for patient-oriented research.
Dr. Susan Duncan

RN, PhD
Eighth Director of the UVic School of Nursing: 2016 – Present
In her term as Director, Dr. Duncan continues to make a significant commitment to nursing education leadership, provincially and nationally.  As chair of the Nursing Education Council of BC, and co-chair of the Nursing Education Planning Council, she works with others to influence policy directions in nursing education through facilitating critical debate, developing consensus in upholding a vision of academic nursing education, and offering future oriented perspectives on preparing nurses at all levels. As the Director in 2020, Dr. Duncan is in a unique position in leading the School of Nursing into a new era and way of being amidst a global pandemic.
Dr. Elizabeth Banister

RN, PhD, R.Psych
UVic School of Nursing: 1995-2017
Dr. Banister’s research interests included adolescent sexual health and media literacy, sexual health education, knowledge translation, and qualitative research design. She served as Advisory Board Member for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Gender and Health (IGH) for six years, and as a Professorial Research Fellow at the School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Practice at the Victoria University of Wellington, NZ for three years, where she subsequently served as Honorary Research Associate.
Margaret Dorthea Bennett

RN, BSN, MSN
UVic School of Nursing: 1977-1981
Margaret Bennett’s career focus in nursing and teaching centred on family care and mental health care. In 1970 The Double-Bind of Motherhood was published. During her career at the UVic School of Nursing, Margaret conducted many workshops for faculty on topics related to the teaching of nursing. Between 1978 to1980 she was a consultant for the Victoria General Hospital Performance Appraisal committee and psychiatric nursing practice.
Dr. Howard Brunt

RN, PhD, Professor Emeritus
UVic School of Nursing: 1990-2016
Dr. Brunt’s clinical and research focus related to cardiovascular risk factor detection and health promotion. He received nursing degrees from the University of Vermont (1978), Yale University (1983) and a PhD in epidemiology and community health sciences from the University of Calgary (1990). He served in leadership positions with a number of national clinical and research organizations, including the Canadian Council of Cardiovascular Nurses, the Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics, the Community Health Research Services Foundation, and the Tri-University Meson Facility. 
Sister Kathleen Cyr

(1933-2011)
Sisters of St. Ann, RN, BSN, MA
UVic School of Nursing: 1976-1980
Sr. Cyr graduated from St. Ann’s Academy in New Westminster in 1950 and entered the Sisters of St. Ann in Victoria in 1952. Her ministry encompassed education, health care, and congregational leadership. Her lifelong dedication to health and education continues through students at UVic and through the Sisters of St. Ann Scholarship in Nursing and Bursary in Education.
Dr. Betty Davies

RN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing: 2009-2013
Dr. Davies’ career as a staff nurse, clinical instructor, university professor, and eventually, nurse researcher reinforced her commitment to caring for families of children with life-limiting illness and enhancing the role of nurses in caring for the dying. She obtained her accreditation from the University of Alberta, the Misericordia Hospital and the Cross-Cancer Institute in Edmonton, St. Mary’s Hospital in Tucson, and the Universities of British Columbia and of California San Francisco. In 2009, she came to the UVic to serve in the newly created position of Senior Scholar.
Dr. Jean Isobel Dawson

RN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing: 1981-2006
Dr. Dawson completed her PhD at the University of Toronto and came to the UVic in 1981 because of Dr. Dorothy Kergin’s vision for nursing education. She was involved in the early development of the curriculum and courses on campus, and distributed learning offerings for the Post Diploma RN Program, the original Collaborative Curriculum, the Graduate Education Program, and the Nurse Practitioner Program.
Dr. Gweneth Doane

RN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing: 1990-2019
Dr. Doane has an interdisciplinary background as a nurse and psychologist. She served in several leadership roles within the UVic School of Nursing as the associate Dean of Graduate Studies, acting Director of the Learning and Teaching Centre, chair of the Senate Committee on Learning and Teaching, and coordinator of the Family Health Centre. She was recognized with several awards including the 3M Fellowship Award, Canada’s highest award for excellence in university education.
Barbara Fox

NP(F) FNP-BC
UVic School of Nursing: 2011-2018
Barbara Fox was instrumental in strengthening the development of the Nurse Practitioner Program and Observed Clinical Exams and established the Challenging Conversations simulation program for UVic NP students. She received a UVic Teaching Professor Scholarship in 2016. She has been a consultant with the College of Registered Nurses of BC for NP privileging standards, prescribing and competencies.
Dr. Elaine Gallagher

RN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing: 1980-2010
Dr. Gallagher served as the third Director of the UVic Institute on Aging & Lifelong Health. In 1996, Dr. Gallagher received a Women of Distinction award from the Victoria YWCA for her work on elder abuse and gerontological nursing. In 2007, she was named Outstanding Alumni of the Year by Simon Fraser University. She is also the recipient of a Distinguished Academic Award from CUFA BC, and has been a key member of two groups receiving the BC Premier’s Awards for work on making cities and towns more “Age Friendly”.
Dr. Lucia Gamroth

RN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing: 1995- 2002
After completing a BSN, an MPA, an MSc, and a PhD degree at the Oregon Health Sciences, Dr. Gamroth served as assistant professor in the School of Nursing in Oregon before coming to UVic. She dedicated her career to improving the health of older persons within the community, and to academic teaching. Her research focused on the lived experience of aging people, transitions in the lives of older persons, individualized care within the healthcare system, the impact of nursing practice on the quality of life of clients, and autonomy in long-term care.
Dr. Virginia (Jinny) E. Hayes

RN, PhD (UCSF)
UVic School of Nursing: 1997-2008
Dr. Hayes retired in 2008 as Full Professor with a half-time cross-appointment as Senior Practice Leader for Nursing Research at the Children’s & Women’s Health Centre of British Columbia. From 2003 to 2008, she led an interdisciplinary team that examined the impact of training community-based child health practitioners in early assessment of infants; a project funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Marilyn Faith Jackson

RN, MA (Ed.)
UVic School of Nursing: 1977-2000
Marilyn Faith Jackson obtained her RN from Toronto’s Wellesley Hospital, her BScN from the University of Manitoba, and her MEd from the Ontario institute for Studies in Education (OISE). She received a World Health Fellowship and Honorary Life memberships in both the Vancouver Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association.
Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey

RN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing 1988-1999
Dr. Lindsey’s academic career was founded on the philosophy, principles, and practices of community development and health promotion. This particular focus informed her teaching, writing, and practice. Through this lens, she became the coordinator of a partnership between the UVic and nine provincial nursing schools in the creation of a new and innovative undergraduate nursing curriculum. As a result of this work, Dr. Lindsey received an award of distinction from the Registered Nurses Association of BC (RNABC).
Mary Lougheed

RN, MN
UVic School of Nursing: 1999-2019
Mary Lougheed’s nursing practice was clinically focused, with a broad range of direct-care experiences in rural and urban hospitals. As a nurse educator she taught in diverse curricula, in varied classroom situations and in clinical and community placements. At UVic she taught in the Undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, in the UVic and partners programs, and in the Post Diploma BSN program. Lougheed was influential in developing and implementing the Collaborative Learning Unit clinical education model in Victoria hospitals.
Dr. Joan McNeil

RN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing: 2006-2013
Dr. McNeil graduated from the University of Alberta with a BSN in 1972. After two years of nursing in Canada, she volunteered with the Canadian Medical Association in St. Lucia. In 1981, she returned to Canada to complete an MN in Health Sciences at McMaster University and worked for the Canadian Nurses Association in Ottawa as International Affairs Manager. In 2003, she joined the World Bank as Senior HIV/AIDS Specialist. In 2006 she joined the School of Nursing faculty at UVic where she remained until her retirement in 2013. Joan’s primary research interests were in HIV/AIDS prevention, transcultural nursing, and health policy.
Dr. Majorie McIntyre

RN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing: 2003-2012
Dr. McIntyre first earned a Diploma in Nursing, practiced in surgical and oncology nursing, finished a BSN, worked as a nurse educator in two community colleges, completed an MN and PhD, and became a professor at two different universities. Dr. McIntyre was a pioneer in refocusing nursing textbooks from a Canadian perspective, most notably, five editions of The Realities of Canadian Nursing.
Dr. Carol MacDonald

RN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing: 2003-2020
Dr. MacDonald’s scholarship and contribution to nursing emerged from interpersonal relationships and issues of social justice; as MacDonald claims, “from times I feel I can engage and make a difference about something that matters. This engagement has been central to the satisfaction of my work in mental health practice settings, research with LGBTQ people, teaching and learning with undergraduate and graduate students, and walking alongside Indigenous colleagues in the lifelong work of reconciliation”.
Dr. Marjorie MacDonald

RN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing: 1990-2018
From 2009 to 2015, Dr. MacDonald held the inaugural CIHR/PHAC Applied Public Health Research Chair, the first research chair held by a faculty member in Nursing. She was President of the Public Health Association of BC (PHABC) from 2011 to 2015. In 2015, Marjorie received the Award for Excellence in Advancing Nursing Knowledge and Research from the Association of Registered Nurses of BC, and in 2016, a Lifetime Achievement Award from PHABC. In 2018, PHABC established the Dr. Marjorie MacDonald Scholarship for Contributions to Public Health.
Jessie Mantle

RN, MN
UVic School of Nursing: 1981-1995
Jessie Mantle has had a unique history of continuing her education across Canada and universities. She received her Nursing Diploma from the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing in 1950, practiced nursing for ten years, and then returned to her studies, graduating from McGill University with a BSN in 1966 and later, certification in Gerontological Nursing. In 1981, Mantle returned to Vancouver Island to take up a joint appointment as professor at the UVic School of Nursing and Clinical Nurse Specialist at Juan de Fuca Hospitals.
Dr. Jane Milliken

RN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing: 1998-2012
Dr. Milliken completed all her post-secondary studies at the University of Alberta, graduating with a BSc in Nursing in 1970, and an MA (1990) and PhD (1998) in Sociology. Her teaching focused on data analysis and research methods, as well as hospital and community clinical practice, while her research interests were the families of those with mental illness, chronic illness, and aging, as well as nursing education and student evaluation.
Dr. Jeannine Moreau

RN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing: 2001-2017
Dr. Moreau received her BSN and MN degrees from the UVic, and her PhD (focusing in Gerontology and Nursing) from the University of Sydney in Australia. She also focused on Nursing Education throughout her career. Dr. Moreau has published several academic papers related to teaching/learning technologies and approaches and has received numerous awards, most related to teaching and the scholarship of teaching. She has held many leadership roles including membership on the UVic Senate, Senate committees and the Registered Nurses of BC Education Program Review committee.
Mary Lewis Richmond

RN, MA
UVic School of Nursing: 1976-1983
Mary Richmond graduated with a diploma in nursing from the Vancouver General Hospital, a diploma in Teaching and Supervision, a BSN from McGill School of Nursing, and an MA from Columbia University. In 1960, she served as Director of the School of Nursing Education at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria. She introduced programs in tuberculosis care, public health, and psychiatric nursing and contributed to the development of the Council of Hospitals and Schools of Nursing, which included representation from all nursing schools in BC.
Dr. Rita Schreiber

RN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing: 1996-2014
Dr. Rita Schreiber joined the UVic School of Nursing in 1996. She had been a clinical nurse specialist at the Queen Street Mental Health Centre in Toronto and had served a year as senior consultant with the Nurse Practitioner Project of the Ontario Ministry of Health. In 2001, she published papers on advanced nursing practice and papers with a focus on the nurse practitioner role in BC. Dr. Schreiber also co-led the creation of an ongoing research seminar on grounded theory methodology within the School of Nursing. Her graduate student supervision was extensive, as was her work on faculty and school committees.
Robin Scobie

RN, BScN, MScN
UVic School of Nursing: 2002-2016
Robin Scobie became a full-time assistant teaching professor in 2002, first at the Langara College campus and then at the Victoria campus. She continued in this role until her retirement in December 2016. Scobie brought a passion for and expertise in community health nursing into her teaching. She worked for 30 years in Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, Ottawa as a Nurse Practitioner, as an Easter Seal Nurse, and in Kaslo BC and Calgary AB, as a Public Health Nurse. In 2000, she completed her MS in Nursing degree at the University of Ottawa, with a focus on primary health care.
Dr. Lynne Young

RN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing: 1994-2018
Dr. Young’s doctoral research explored family influence on risk for cardiovascular disease, which led her to study lone mothers’ risk for cardiovascular disease in her post-doctoral work. Dr. Young worked interprofessionally to improve pain care (2004 to 2019), serving on Pain BC’s inaugural Board of Directors. Dr. Young has also received Awards for Excellence in Teaching from the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (2012) and the College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia (2013) and has published many articles and textbooks on teaching nursing.
Dr. Marcia Hills

RN, PhD, FAAN, FCAN
UVic School of Nursing 1982-2022

Dr. Marcia Hills began her career as a nursing student at the Halifax Infirmary School of Nursing. Her early nursing practice was in the area of children’s mental health. She subsequently completed her BSN at the University of Alberta, followed by an MA and PhD in Counselling Psychology and Human Development.

Marcia began her academic career at the University of Victoria in 1982 teaching in schools of Nursing and Education. In 1989 she was appointed as the Founding Director of the Collaborative Nursing Program and held faculty positions in both the School of Nursing and the School of Child and Youth Care until her retirement at the end of 2022. 

Dr. Margaret Scaia

BSN, MN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing 2005-2022

I will always appreciate the opportunity I had to work at the School of Nursing and bring a historical lens to my teaching and scholarship. The support, goodwill and comradery extended to me over the years and the intense and rewarding experiences with my students will stay with me in the years to come.

Dr. Esther Sangster-Gormley

RN, PhD
UVic School of Nursing 2007-2022

Dr. Sangster-Gormley served in several leadership positions including coordinator of the nurse practitioner program and Associate Dean of the Faculty of HSD. She provided leadership in the development, implementation and advancement of the nurse practitioner role in Canada. In addition to her national involvement in advancing the nurse practitioner role she served on provincial committees in BC and New Brunswick including the BC College of Nurses and Midwives Nursing Education Program Review Committee and the Nurse Practitioner Standards Committee.

Dr. Debra Sheets

Ph.D., MSN, RN, FCAN, FAAN, FGSA, FAGHE
UVic School of Nursing:  2009-2023

Dr. Debra Sheets joined the UVic School of Nursing  in 2009. She earned certifications in nursing education and in gerontological nursing and taught at a California State University for nearly a decade.  She completed her doctorale in Gerontology and Public Policy from the University of Southern California in 1999. Dr. Sheets is an elected fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing (FCAN), the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), the Gerontological Society of America (FGSA) and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (FAGHE).  She served as the Victoria site lead for the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging from 2011 to 2018.  She is the founder of four community-based, intergenerational initiatives (e.g., Voices in Motion choir, Memory Cafes, Minds on the Go, and Momentia Victoria) in Victoria, BC, aimed at making the arts more accessible to persons living with dementia and their care partners. She is the host of the Call to Mind, a four-part podcast series created during the pandemic that aims to share intimate stories about the challenges and rewards of caregiving and finding joy by living in the present.  Her research has focused on caregivers, dementia and healthy aging.  She has published many articles  in national and international peer-reviewed journals.