Littlefield to retire as School of Nursing dean

Vivian Littlefield, one of UW–Madison’s longest-serving administrators, will retire after 16 years as dean of the School of Nursing.

Vivian Littlefield

Littlefield, who announced her plans this week to UW–Madison Chancellor David Ward and to her colleagues, will retire as dean on Dec. 31, 1999. A national search will begin for her successor.

“Dean Littlefield has been a dedicated leader of the nursing school and a strong national advocate for the nursing profession,” said Ward. “We are grateful for her many years of work at UW–Madison.”

Said Littlefield: “Serving as dean of this school, under a time of enormous change in the field of nursing, has been a very satisfying and challenging role. But I think it is time for new leadership and time for me to focus on other things in my life.”

Littlefield’s husband, Gregory Reuter, has faced a seven-year battle with early onset Alzheimer’s Disease, and continuing responsibilities for his care influenced her decision to retire, she said.

As dean since 1984, Littlefield led the school through a time of progress in academics and research. She said the biggest change for the school was attaining a doctoral program. That degree began in 1984 as a joint program between nursing and psychology but since 1991 has been exclusively a nursing doctorate.

The UW–Madison school was one of the first to offer off-campus study through the use of technology, and today has an established World Wide Web-based distance education program with other UW System schools. Littlefield said the program helps keep professionals working in under-served areas such as northern Wisconsin and inner-city Milwaukee.

“We have been a very responsive program to the incredible changes in the role of nurses,” she said. Nurses today often have primary responsibility for patient care and added roles such as writing prescriptions and managing patient care across different settings.

Over the same time the school’s research expanded, reflecting a national need to bolster nursing with more scientific study. The school has steadily increased its federal funding and has private support from groups such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the American Heart Association. The school increased its doctoral students from five to 30 and now has a growing number of postdoctoral fellows doing research.

“We are moving forward,” Littlefield said, noting that the school’s research funding ranks 12th in the nation among more than 600 nursing schools.

The school, which is 75 years old this year, has nationally recognized research programs in pain management, patient health-seeking behaviors and using information technology to assist patients. “Nurses study what happens to people in the health care environment – how it impacts their personal lives and their families,” she said.

Challenges for the next dean will include continuing the growth of research, starting more collaborations across campus disciplines and steering the construction of a new Nursing Science Center, she said.

Littlefield received her undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University, her master’s degree from the University of Colorado and Ph.D. from the University of Denver. She has a total of 39 years of experience in nursing, from practice to administration.

Prior to joining UW–Madison, she held faculty and administrative positions at the University of Rochester, the University of Colorado and the University of Kentucky. She currently chairs the board of the Badger Chapter American Red Cross and is chair of the Consortium for Primary Care in Wisconsin.