Gutchell Appointed Chair of Department of Partnerships, Professional Education, and Practice at the University of Maryland School of Nursing

Baltimore, Md. - Veronica Gutchell, DNP ’13, RN, CNS, CRNP, has been appointed chair of the University of Maryland School of Nursing’s (UMSON) Department of Partnerships, Professional Education, and Practice (PPEP).

Gutchell had served as the interim chair of PPEP since July 2023, succeeding Yolanda Ogbolu, PhD ’11, MS ’05, BSN ’04, NNP, FNAP, FAAN, the Bill and Joanne Conway Dean of the University of Maryland School of Nursing, upon Ogbolu’s appointment as dean. 

PPEP, one of UMSON’s five academic departments, has a mission to support focused programs, all of which capitalize on the synergy of partnerships and collaboration, that advance the School’s strategic mission and goals. It comprises faculty who direct programs for both internal and external partners, including students, patients, and external constituents.

The department encompasses a broad array of organizational units, including the Clinical Simulation Labs, the Standardized Patient Program, the Institute for Educators, the Office of Global Health, and the Office of Professional Education, as well as the Governor’s Wellmobile Program, which offers mobile, nurse-managed primary health care to underserved and uninsured populations in Maryland while providing important learning opportunities for nursing students. PPEP also offers the Global Health Certificate and the Teaching in Nursing and Health Professions Certificate.

As chair of PPEP, Gutchell leads departmental faculty members in UMSON’s tripartite mission of education, research and scholarship, and service. PPEP faculty teach in their area of expertise across the School’s programs of study, and they engage in research, quality improvement, and program development in practice and education through supporting national and global initiatives for professional nursing advancement.

Gutchell joined the School of Nursing in 2013 as an assistant professor in the Department of Organizational Systems and Adult Health. Since September 2022, she has served as director of the Wellmobile Program, having served previously as a nurse practitioner and faculty member within that program.

In addition to her extensive experience as a nurse practitioner on the front lines of care delivery to vulnerable populations and overseeing student learning, Gutchell brings important project management skills and a commitment to collaborative leadership to her new role. 

Gutchell’s work has focused on employing health policy and evidence-based information to remove barriers from and expand access to advanced practice registered nursing in Maryland and nationally. She holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from UMSON, a Master of Science in Nursing with a specialization in Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing from Russell Sage College in New York, and a post-master’s Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Binghamton University in New York. She also holds a Global Health Certificate from UMSON. Committed to shared governance, Gutchell served for four years as chair of UMSON’s Faculty Council and is currently serving as an UMSON representative on the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Faculty Senate. She was also recognized with the School of Nursing Alumni Association Outstanding DNP Graduate Award. 

Prior to joining UMSON, Gutchell had more than two decades of clinical experience, including extensive service at then-Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., as a nurse practitioner. She subsequently served as head nurse for the Clinical Breast Care Project and at the Albany Medical Center Hospital in New York.

Gutchell was a 2017 fellow in UMSON’s Nurse Leadership Institute and a 2015 graduate of the Future Leaders Program of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Her service to the nursing profession includes holding positions of president-elect, president, and past president of the Nurse Practitioner Association of Maryland. She was an elected Maryland representative to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and recipient of the 2014 AANP State Award for Excellence. Within the School of Nursing, she has served as secretary, chair-elect, chair, and past chair of the Faculty Council and currently serves as an UMSON representative to the Faculty Senate for the University of Maryland, Baltimore. 

###

The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools in the nation and is ranked among the top nursing schools nationwide. Enrolling nearly 2,000 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.