College of Health and Human Sciences welcomes new head of nursing, inaugural associate dean for clinical education

Christopher (Chris) L. ColemanPhoto provided

Purdue University’s College of Health and Human Sciences (HHS) is pleased to announce Christopher (Chris) L. Coleman will serve as the Mark and Maureen Miller Head of the School of Nursing and the inaugural associate dean for clinical education, effective July 1, 2022. Dr. Coleman will be preceded by Pam Karagory, who will remain on faculty in the School of Nursing.

Dr. Coleman joins Purdue from the Indiana University School of Nursing-Fort Wayne, where he currently serves as associate dean and professor. His research focuses on understanding factors that include health-promoting behaviors of HIV-infected middle-aged and older African American men and HIV risk factors among vulnerable populations. He is also interested in symptom management strategies used by HIV-infected populations.

Prior to joining the Indiana University School of Nursing-Fort Wayne in 2018, he was on faculty in the College of Nursing at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where he served as department chair and professor of the Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. From 2010-2017, he was the Fagin Endowed Term Associate Professor of Nursing and Multicultural Diversity at the University of Pennsylvania and served as co-director of the Center of Health Equity Research, among other positions. In addition, Dr. Coleman has held academic appointments at Virginia Commonwealth University, Rutgers University and the University of Southern California.

Dr. Coleman holds a Master of Science degree in family and child psychiatric nursing from Oregon Health and Science University and a Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University. He holds a PhD in nursing from the University of California, San Francisco and completed a postdoctoral fellowship program in the School of Nursing at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied HIV’s effect on quality of life.

Dr. Coleman’s notable work in higher education administration combined with a strong scholarly and clinical background and impressive record of advancing diversity, equity and inclusion through his research and academic leadership make him exceptionally well-suited to become the new Mark and Maureen Miller Head of the School of Nursing.