Associate professor Dr. Julie L. Valentine has been named as the new associate dean of undergraduate studies and research. Also, professor Dr. Beth Luthy was named as the associate dean of graduate studies and evidence-based practice.
Luthy (MS ’05) DNP, FNP-c, FAANP, FAAN, has taught nursing courses for Brigham Young University for the past 16 years. For the past two years, she also served as the graduate program coordinator for its family nurse practitioner program. Her research trajectory is in immunization compliance, where she identifies potential barriers to immunization and designs projects and education initiatives to address the obstacles effectively. As an immunization expert, she has served as the chair of the advisory commission on childhood vaccines through the United States Department of Health and Human Services and chair of the childhood immunization special interest group through the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognized Luthy’s dedication to improving immunization rates with the Childhood Immunization Champion Award. She is a Fellow with the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and with the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). Her predecessor was Dr. Jane Lassetter, who was recently named the college dean and began her new assignment on July 1.
Besides teaching at BYU for nine years, Valentine PhD, RN, CNE, SANE-A, is a certified sexual assault nurse with Wasatch Forensic Nurses. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona, a master’s degree from the University of Utah, and her doctor of philosophy from Duquesne University, all nursing degrees. Her research focus areas are sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and the criminal justice system response to sexual violence. She is a nationally known expert in the field of sexual assault research and has received awards for her research, including the Young Faculty Scholar (BYU) in 2018, Southwest Institute for Research on Women in 2017, and Research Advocate of the Year (Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault) in 2017.
Valentine was appointed to the National Institute of Justice to the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting Act Working Group in the development of national best practice policies in sexual assault cases. She served on the BYU Advisory Council on-campus response to sexual misconduct in 2016, which investigated Title IX implementation and recommended substantial policy and structural changes. Additionally, she created a middle-range forensic nursing theory, the Constructed Theory of Forensic Nursing Care, to serve as an international framework for forensic nursing education, practice, and research. Valentine is replacing Dr. Katreena Merrill, who was in this role since 2017.
Lassetter (AS ’81, BS ’98, MS ’01) PhD, RN, is a college alumnus and received three BYU nursing degrees before obtaining a terminal degree in nursing from Oregon Health Sciences University in 2008, and completing a graduate certificate in Healthcare Ethics from Creighton University. She was honored with the BYU Muriel Thole Teaching and Learning Faculty Fellowship in 2016.
Recognized for her commitment to nursing leadership and the promotion of the public’s health through evidence and innovation, Lassetter was inducted as a 2019 Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). Her contributions include regional and international leadership, and promotion of cultural sensitivity and improved health for underserved populations often overlooked in healthcare policy and research. She currently serves as the president of the Western Institute of Nursing (WIN) and past-president of the International Family Nursing Association (IFNA).
Assistant dean Kathy A. Whitenight MBA, remains in her current position and oversees resource management for the College.
Leadership for the BYU College of Nursing includes (left to right): Luthy, Whitenight, Dean Lassetter, and Valentine.