Here at RFU

Provost Nancy Parsley Retires, James Carlson Named Interim Provost

Provost Nancy L. Parsley, DPM ’93, MHPE, retired in June after 18 years of service to Rosalind Franklin University. A graduate of Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine (SCPM), she became the first woman dean to lead the college in 2011 and was named provost in 2019. Before returning to SCPM in 2007 as associate dean of academic affairs, she was the director of health policy and practice for the American Podiatric Medical Association.

James Carlson, PhD ’13, MS ’01, PA-C, CHSE-A, is serving as interim provost while continuing in his leadership roles around innovation, interprofessional education and simulation. Dr. Carlson leads efforts to advance RFU’s interprofessional mission and the development of a new 22,000-square-foot simulation center at the North Chicago campus.

Lisa Hopp Named Dean of College of Nursing

Following a national search, Lisa Hopp, PhD, RN, FAAN, was named dean of the College of Nursing. Dr. Hopp assumed interim deanship on July 1, 2024. She has a wealth of experience in higher education administration, faculty leadership development, synthesis research, curriculum design, and online teaching 
and learning.

Interprofessional RFU Team Wins Health Equity Innovation Award

A team of four students from Rosalind Franklin University’s    DeWitt C. Baldwin Institute for Interprofessional Education won the Health Equity Innovation Award at the Clarion National Case Competition at the University of Minnesota. Led by Robin Dyer, MD, OTR, CHSE, MS-HPE, and Abbie Lyden, PharmD, the team included Oluwatobi Akinsanya, COP ’26, Dyamond Caples, COP ’26, Michael George, MD ’25, and Kathy Yun, CON ’26.

This achievement underscores RFU’s commitment to addressing health disparities and advancing equitable healthcare solutions in an interprofessional way. The students’ proposal identified scalable innovations targeting systemic inequities in healthcare access, quality and outcomes.