College of Nursing welcomes new dean

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s College of Nursing (CON) begins the 2022-23 academic year with several new faces, including Dean Seon Yoon Chung, who began July 1 following a nationwide search.

Chung served as an associate dean for academics at Illinois State University (ISU) Mennonite College of Nursing prior to joining the UW Oshkosh family. Before her time at ISU, she was a faculty member at University of Maryland School of Nursing where she directed their medical-surgical course and conducted funded research to promote quality of life in older adults living with chronic kidney disease.

She is a registered nurse and a certified nurse educator and healthcare simulation educator. Chung is particularly dedicated to supporting students’ success as well as assisting faculty and staff with professional development. She has led curriculum revision and professional development initiatives to offer students, faculty and staff with the latest updates in the field of education and the profession of nursing, so that together, they can contribute to promoting the health of society.

What drew her to nursing?

“I was informed about the global need for nurses and was inspired by the international career opportunities available to nurses (I grew up in Singapore and was always interested in exploring the world and learning new cultures). I did not have nurses in the family. I did not have family members who needed medical attention. Practicing as a nurse, I learned that health is a privilege I had that I could use to help others when they are in need of support.”

Tenure track status

The CON has six new tenure track faculty as of July 1: Chris Giberson, Maria Graf, Erika Janssen, Lindsay Morgan, Nahal Rahmanpanah and Jessica Tomasiewicz.

Dean Chung said the faculty members have been actively teaching students. “We are excited for their dedication to serve as tenure track faculty,” she said of the assistant professors.

Chris Giberson graduated with his MSN and nurse anesthesia degree and went on to earn an MBA in finance and doctorate in nursing. He has been a nurse in different capacities for over 20 years. He worked at UWO for a year as an adjunct before taking the plunge into a full-time faculty opportunity within the CON. Giberson’s research interests include simulation in anesthesia, faculty recruitment and retention and variable delivery modalities in education.

Maria Graf, who has worked at UWO since 2013, completed her doctorate at UW-Milwaukee, her master’s in nursing education at UWO, and her undergraduate studies in her home country Peru. Her research interests are in mental health needs and access to services among women of color, with an emphasis on Latina migrant farmworkers. Graf’s professional career spans over 26 years, including acute care and public health nursing. Graf is co-adviser for UWO Student Organization of Latinos.

Erika Janssen is assistant director for the accelerated bachelor of science in nursing option. She earned her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in nursing at UWO and graduated with a degree in elementary teaching from a pedagogical school in Romania. Teaching at the CON since 2013, she has a nursing background in acute cardiac and medical care and as an educator, has interest in curriculum development and integrating educational methods, such as virtual reality. As a researcher, she is passionate about women’s care.

Lindsay Morgan recently received her doctorate of nursing practice from UWO and became certified as a family nurse practitioner. She has been teaching at UWO since 2016 as instructional academic staff. She’s working as a nurse in areas of acute care and community nursing, including regulatory oversight for the past 15 years. She has a passion for geriatric patients. Her areas of interest in research include simulation, equity and inclusivity. She looks forward to a long career in academia and clinical practice.

Nahal Rahmanpanah is a two-time graduate of UWO—from the accelerated nursing program and the doctor of nursing practice program. Her interests in teaching, service and scholarship brought her back in 2020, where she is a CON assistant professor and director of the DNP-Family Nurse Practitioner program. With a nursing background in emergency medicine, she also maintains a clinical practice as a nurse practitioner in an urgent care setting. Rahmanpanah is interested in curriculum development and using innovative techniques in the learning environment.

Jessica Tomasiewicz has been a nurse anesthetist since 2015. She received both her master’s in nurse anesthesia (2015) and her doctorate of nurse anesthesia practice (2017) from Rosalind Franklin University. She works as an independent nurse anesthetist in Berlin and teaches in the CON nurse anesthesia program’s principles classes and clinical courses. In the simulation lab,
she teaches a variety of skills—regional, ultrasound, intraoperative cases and airway. She’s been an assistant program director since September 2021.

New director leading Simulation and Skills Lab

Marianne Madariaga, who relocated from Casper, Wyoming, is the new director of CON’s Simulation and Skills Lab.

Madariaga’s career began in intensive care and emergency medicine and continued with high-risk pregnant women and infants. She carried her love for public health to Wyoming, where she was impressed by the grit of the people on the frontier. She taught nursing and was director of simulation at a community college.

The Chicago native earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from North Park University and her master’s from Walden University. She served as president of the Wyoming Nurses’ Association.

“I am happy to be back in the Midwest and making this my home,” she said.