Professor Elda Ramirez has been appointed associate dean of strategic initiatives and community engagement at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston effective immediately. 

In the new role, Ramirez will champion and advance professionalism, excellence, and community engagement among faculty, staff, and students and will serve as a liaison with university leadership on these issues. Specific responsibilities include serving as the coordinator of accommodations for students with disabilities in compliance with Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

“Dr. Ramirez has long been a strong advocate for initiatives aimed at removing barriers to engagement for faculty, staff, students, and the larger community,” said Dean Diane Santa Maria, DrPH, MSN, ACRN, PHNA-BC, FSAHM, FAAN. “In her new role, she will help provide continuity and momentum to our efforts to weave the values of the school and university throughout our programs, activities, and interactions with one another.” 

Ramirez, PhD, FNP-BC, ENP-BC, FAAN, FAANP, FAEN, is the Dorothy T. Nicholson Distinguished Professor in the Department of Graduate Studies at Cizik School of Nursing. She is the emergency/trauma care track coordinator and was named co-director of the UTHealth Houston Center for Interprofessional Collaboration in September 2023. She has served as an assistant dean at Cizik School of Nursing since November 2020. 

Ramirez joined the nursing school’s faculty in 1994 as a clinical instructor in the Acute and Continuing Care Department and now serves as professor of clinical nursing. She received her PhD from Texas Woman’s University in 2006, MSN from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in 1993, and her BSN from Cizik School of Nursing in 1988.