Rutgers Health Names New Dean to Lead School of Nursing

Angela Starkweather, an accomplished nurse-scientist and clinician with extensive higher education experience, has been named dean of the Rutgers School of Nursing.

Starkweather comes to Rutgers Health having served as the Chamings Endowed Professor in Nursing and assistant dean of research development at the University of Florida College of Nursing in Gainesville, Fla.

Known for her research in pain and chronic illness management as well as her advocacy for evidence-based practice, Starkweather previously held positions as associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Connecticut School of Nursing in Storrs, Conn., where she served as director of the Center for Advancement in Managing Pain and as an affiliate scientist at the Institute for Systems Genomics and the Institute for Collaboration, Health Intervention and Policy. Before that, she served as department chair at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing in Richmond, Va., and as an assistant professor at the Washington State University College of Nursing.

Starkweather, who will join Rutgers Health on Aug. 19, assumes the leadership role from Linda Flynn, who is retiring after serving as dean since June 2020. She will lead a nursing school that has surged in the national rankings and research growth under Flynn’s tenure. The school continues to be ranked among the top 10 percent of nursing schools nationwide; U.S. News & World Report ranked the school No. 5 for its doctor of nursing practice program and No. 14 for its master of science in nursing program in Best Graduate Programs 2024. At No. 31 out of 656 programs listed, its bachelor’s degree program places it among the nation’s top 5 percent, according to Best Colleges 2024.

The school also has gained renown for its commitment to advancing diversity, equity and belonging. It received the national Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award in 2022 and 2023.

“We thank Dean Flynn for her visionary leadership and look forward to Dr. Starkweather taking over the mantle at the Rutgers School of Nursing, New Jersey’s most comprehensive nursing school, producing the largest number of new RNs in the state,” said Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences Chancellor Brian Strom, who leads Rutgers Health. “With Dr. Starkweather’s extensive background in research, innovation and evidence-based clinical practice, we look forward to elevating this school to an even greater level of accomplishment.”

An advocate for evidence-based practices in nursing, Starkweather has conducted extensive research on neuropathic pain, which has informed the development of targeted treatment. Her work has focused on identifying the factors that contribute to the transition of acute to chronic pain and implemented interventions to improve quality of life and health outcomes for people affected by chronic health conditions and mitigating health disparities in underserved populations. 

As dean, Starkweather will oversee the Rutgers School of Nursing undergraduate and graduate programs to prepare students for successful careers in health care and further the school’s reputation as a nationally ranked, research-intensive nursing school with an emphasis on health equity.

“I am honored and thrilled to be joining the administrative team at Rutgers Health,” Starkweather said. “I look forward to continuing the work of Dean Flynn and the School of Nursing faculty, staff and alumni in creating the best experiences for the nursing students, producing top-ranked programs and growing the nursing research enterprise with our partners and communities.”

With a successful record of administrative leadership, Starkweather has led department and program administration, the process of accreditation, academic-practice partnerships and system-level changes to facilitate research collaborations, faculty practice models and clinical research and implementation science for improving patient care and health outcomes. She was recently recognized for her significant research contributions by the Southern Nursing Research Society, which awarded her the Distinguished Nursing Researcher award in 2024, as well as her induction last month into the Sigma International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame.

Starkweather is a member of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses Clinical Practice Guideline Editorial Board, American Academy of Nursing’s Genomics and Health Outcomes Expert Panel, the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science, the Palliative Care Research Cooperative Group and the International Association for the Study of Pain. In addition, she is a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Medicine and Engineering’s Roundtable on Genomics and Precision Health and serves on multiple research review councils.

She received her undergraduate degree from Seattle Pacific University, master of science in nursing and doctoral degree from Loyola University Chicago and was a postdoctoral fellow in oncology nursing at Washington State University.