Dr. Patricia Liehr Appointed Interim Dean of Christine E. Lynn
College of Nursing

Patricia Liehr, Ph.D., has been named interim dean of the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University as Dean Safiya George assumes her new role as president of the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI).

Dr. Liehr, born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, earned her doctorate at the University of Maryland at Baltimore. She joined FAU College of Nursing as a Professor and the first Associate Dean for Nursing Research and Scholarship in 2004. In August 2014, she left her Associate Dean role to become professor of nursing for a few years before returning to the Associate Dean role until her retirement in 2020, when she was awarded emerita professor.

Known for her work on "Story Theory" and co-authoring "Middle Range Theory for Nursing," Dr. Liehr believes in the power of stories in health. Her teachings draw from her expertise in theory development and research that can be described as one addressing personal and global peace. This work includes the study of interventions such as yoga, mindfulness and story-centered care. For nearly two decades, Dr. Liehr collaborated with a multi-disciplinary team, including Japanese colleagues, to creatively disseminate findings from a study on the health stories of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima survivors.