University of Georgia School of Nursing

Our Vision

Through the School of Nursing, UGA will offer undergraduate and graduate level degrees, conduct impactful nursing research, and build capacity to educate hundreds of additional nurses across multiple levels of care. UGA seeks to contribute meaningfully to alleviating the nursing shortage in Georgia while strengthening its role in advancing the health and well-being of communities across the region.

Meet the Dean

Carolyn K. Clevenger is the founding dean of the University of Georgia School of Nursing. A nationally recognized academic leader in advanced practice nursing, geriatrics and gerontology, she begins her appointment on Jan. 1, 2026.

Clevenger is committed to advancing health in communities across Georgia and has more than two decades of experience in health care instruction, research and leadership.

Prior to joining UGA, Clevenger served as a professor at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and founder and director of Integrated Memory Care at Emory Healthcare. During her tenure at Emory, Clevenger held primary responsibilities for an academic enterprise that prepares future nurses and advanced practice nurses.

Clevenger’s research focuses on models of care for people living with dementia, psychoeducational programs for dementia family caregivers and the geriatric health workforce. She has served as a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on 14 externally funded projects totaling more than $21 million. Clevenger has authored 53 papers in peer-reviewed publications on a wide range of topics, including models of dementia care, development of caregiver interventions and building health care workforce capacity — all areas directly relevant to Georgia’ s needs.

Clevenger serves on the American Association of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board for the Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP Certification exam, the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce and the Georgia Nursing Leadership Coalition. She is a past president of the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association and a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, the Gerontological Society of America and the American Academy of Nursing.

Her honors include the American Academy of Nursing’s Edge Runner award (2025), the National League for Nursing’s Isabel Hampton Robb Award (2025), the Emory University Nurses’ Alumni Association Award of Honor (2022), the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties’ Outstanding Faculty Practice Award (2020) and the Augusta University Outstanding Young Alumni Award (2018).

Clevenger earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from West Virginia University, a master’s in gerontology nursing from Emory University and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the Medical College of Georgia. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Veterans Health Administration.

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