Jessica Clark

Biography

Dr. Jessica Clark has served the College of Education and Health Sciences as Dean since June 2021. In the summer of 2019, Dean Clark joined Bradley University as the Associate Dean and Director of the Department of Nursing. In that first role at Bradley University, Dean Clark was instrumental in developing and implementing new programming in the areas of Psychiatric Mental Health and two concentrations among Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioners as well as leading faculty and student success initiatives within Bradley’s largest department. Before her work at Bradley, Dean Clark spent 7 years at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana where she was the chairperson of Baccalaureate Nursing Completion Department. In that role, she led online programs in both LPN and RN to BSN tracks for over 1200 students.

Prior to higher education, Dean Clark held highly regarded nursing administration appointments and leadership roles within professional clinical settings. She was the regional program director for Telehealth programming with the Department of Veteran Affairs where she oversaw daily Telehealth modalities of care for over 8 medical centers and 65 outpatient clinics in three states. She has also worked in several practice areas such as emergency, critical care and medical-surgical nursing.

Dean Clark and her husband Dr. Chad Clark, also of Bradley University in the Department of Education, Counseling and Leadership, reside in Washington, Illinois. They have two daughters, one son and two furry kids named Sammy and Frankie. Dean Clark is an avid reader, loves traveling and enjoys seeking out new healthy opportunities with friends and family to unwind and combat stress.

Teaching

Dean Clark’s teaching experience encompasses both undergraduate and graduate studies via traditional campus and distance learning with several large universities and small private colleges (Norwich University, Ball State University, Saint Joseph’s College of Maine).

Scholarship

Dean Clark values scholarly dissemination and her evidence-based practice and research interests include telehealth technologies, distance education development in both undergraduate and graduate, as well as academic leadership immersion and developing junior faculty for chairperson succession.

Select Publications:
Grugan, A. & Clark, J. (2020). Chapter: No Eating, No Meeting: Bringing Your Team to the Table. Lead Your Department of Nursing with a Sense of Humor: Why and How to) Be a Funnier and More Effective Educational Leader and Laugh All the Way to Your College. Book Chapter
Owegi, R., Clark, J., Jenkins, J. & Reed, R. (2020). Testing Security: Managing Academic
Dishonesty in an Online Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum. Accepted Manuscript, The Department Chairperson, Winter 2020
Everly, M., Berlin, K., Weber, P., Peterson, Y. & Nelson, J. (2018, Fall). When Faculty Downsizingand Student Success Collide. The Department Chairperson, (29)2, 21.
Clark, C. & Nelson, J. (2018, Summer). Progress Requires Change- The Need for Distance Faculty. The Department Chairperson, 29(1), 15-16.
Nelson, J., Walters, L & McQuiston, L. (2017, Spring). Strategies for Success within Fully Online Asynchronous Academic Departments. The Department Chairperson, (27)4, 15-17. Everly, M., Hall, L., Nelson, J., & Southard, E. (2017, Winter). Confessions of Untenured Chairs. The Department Chairperson, (27)3, 5-7.
Everly, M., Hall, L., Nelson, J., & Southard, E. (2016, Fall). The Untenured Department Chair:Creating a Cultural Change for Current and Future Program Needs. The Department Chairperson, (27)2, 1-3.

Service

As a practicing nurse, Dean Clark values giving back to her community, professional organizations and serving in key leadership service projects across the Bradley University campus.

Licensures and Certifications

Registered Nurse, Illinois, Indiana, Vermont, and Maine