The Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing has appointed Maria Torchia LoGrippo as its inaugural Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Joan Hansen Grabe Dean Ann Marie Mauro announced.
LoGrippo comes to Hunter from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, where she served as Kehler Family Assistant Dean of Curricular Affairs and Innovation and practice professor in the Department of Family and Community Health. She joins Hunter on August 25.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. LoGrippo, who brings a wealth of expertise in community nursing, curricular initiatives, accreditation, regulatory affairs, and expanding health access,” Dean Mauro said. “She will help bring our programs to new heights.”
The high-impact appointment underscores Hunter’s role as an anchor institution and top training ground for nursing improving health equity in the city and state. Hunter was ranked third out of 210 nursing schools in New York and in the top 10% nationally by nonprofit news site RN Careers. Our master’s programs also were ranked among the best in the state by RegisteredNursing.org, a nursing-advocacy organization.
A national thought leader and fellow of the National League for Nursing Academy of Nursing Education, LoGrippo is an expert in promoting access to higher education and collaborative partnerships across nursing programs. Her teaching experiences include didactic and clinical courses in adult health, leadership, and community health.
At Penn, LoGrippo integrated leadership training into the curriculum — expanding student opportunities for community health and leadership engagement, population health-management, and enhancing the role of behavioral health in primary care.
LoGrippo’s doctoral work focused on perceptions of trust and stress among English- and Spanish-speaking pregnant women receiving care from certified nurse midwives. This community-based research helped inform her future work to improve access and equity through nursing leadership and education. She is committed to delivering action-oriented approaches for advancing social justice throughout the curriculum and improving health equity and access.
As a principal investigator, LoGrippo has garnered more than $1.3 million in federal funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration Nurse Faculty Loan Program. She has provided support for some $6 million in extramural funding for scholarly work and research, mostly focused on nursing education and leadership.
She helped steward Penn’s completion of the American Council on Midwifery Education Self-Evaluation Report, its initial Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education accreditation of the Doctor of Nursing Practice and post-graduate Advanced Practice Registered Nurse certificate programs, and the commission's accreditation of the school.
She is an American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials Champion and helped redesign Penn Nursing curricula in alignment with the essentials.
LoGrippo has received many awards, including a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Breakthrough Nurse Leader Award. She is a past Johnson Foundation Faculty Preparedness Program New Jersey Nursing Initiative Scholar.
At Penn, LoGrippo received the Joan Lynaugh Faculty Mentorship Award in the Department of Family and Community Health and the Dean’s Award for Commitment to Excellence. She also received the Heart of Rutgers School of Nursing Faculty Award in 2018 while at Rutgers School of Nursing.
LoGrippo received her PhD from Seton Hall University, her MSN in nursing administration from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, and her BSN from Georgetown University.