Interim Dean of Education

Rose Porter, who is entering her 30th year of service to Mizzou, brings a wealth of knowledge and an unending passion for higher education to her interim deanship position at the College of Education. Porter earned her doctorate from MU’s College of Education in Higher and Adult Education and one of her two sons, Matthew Porter, graduated from Mizzou in 2000 with a degree in middle school mathematics education.

Mizzou has a fond place in her heart. From 1999 through July, 2008, Porter served as dean of the MU Sinclair School of Nursing, where she lead innovative programs and expanded the school’s online offerings.

During her tenure at Nursing, the school's annual grant awards increased 486 percent, undergraduate enrollment increased as a result of the addition of an Accelerated BSN degree, and the school formed a partnership with Americare Systems, Inc. to build and operate TigerPlace, an aging-in-place site that allows seniors to experience nursing assessments at the highest level.

As interim dean of education, Porter hopes to become an advocate of the diverse activities within the MU College of Education.

“I want to learn everything I can learn about the college so I can cheerlead its research, service and teaching across campus, the state, nation and overseas,” Porter says.

Porter’s goal is to encourage continuous quality improvement in each of the college’s initiatives. She believes that everything needs to get better each year.

“We collect data, do assessment of our activities and each year need to review our outcomes,” she says. “This is how we can continually improve our quality as a research and teaching institution.”

Biography

Rose Porter graduated from St. Mary’s School of Nursing in Milwaukee and continued her education at the University of Iowa College of Nursing (BSN ’71, MA ’73). In 1983, Porter graduated from the University of Missouri College of Education with a PhD in Higher & Adult Education with a major area of study Administration of Higher Education.

Upon graduating from St. Mary’s, Porter served as staff nurse on a medical unit in Wisconsin and later in California. She returned to the Midwest and worked in intensive care and charge nurse positions at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Fischel State Cancer Hospital, respectively.

Porter’s career later shifted to nursing education. She has taught in several major academic health centers in various academic positions. As a member of the teaching faculty, Porter taught 18 courses at either the undergraduate or graduate levels at two major academic centers. Porter also served in a variety of administrative academic capacities, including coordinator, area director, associate dean and dean. Most recently, she served as dean of the University of Missouri Sinclair School of Nursing. She served as dean of nursing from 1999 – July, 2008. 

She was affiliated with the Sinclair School of Nursing at University of Missouri for 29 years. She began as an instructor in the College of Nursing and successfully climbed the ladder to deanship. Porter has given more than 75 state, national and international presentations to advance and enhance the nursing profession. In addition, Porter single-handedly secured traineeship money for the Sinclair School of Nursing for four straight years.

While working in numerous teaching and administrative positions, she truly impacted the profession of nursing. She oversaw the opening of TigerPlace/Senior Care.