Gross Forneris named associate dean for Academic Programs

Susan Gross Forneris, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE-A, FAAN, joined the school as professor and associate dean for Academic Programs. Gross Forneris has been a nurse educator for more than 20 years and most recently served as director for Innovation in Education Excellence at the National League for Nursing (NLN).

Her expertise is in curriculum development with emphasis on experiential teaching and learning that intersects with her research on critical thinking. Her publications focus on the development and use of reflective teaching strategies to enhance critical thinking. Recognized nationally and internationally for her expertise and leadership driving programs on faculty preparation to teach, she was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in 2018.  

She served as a simulation expert for the NLN Advancing Care Excellence for Seniors (ACE.S) Team and a simulation author for the NLN ACE.Z Alzheimer’s simulation scenario series. In her work with the NLN she has traveled to Taiwan, China and South Korea working closely with those country’s nursing education influencers to prepare faculty in teaching and learning best practices with emphasis in simulation. She is instrumental in the design and implementation of faculty development courses focused on the science of teaching and learning, curriculum and instructional design, simulation foundations, debriefing, and learner evaluation. 

She earned bachelor’s degree in nursing from the College of St. Scholastica, and master’s and PhD degrees in nursing at the University of Minnesota.