Victoria Haynes named School of Medicine & Health Sciences Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) has named Victoria Haynes, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC, FNP-C, the School’s new Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) following the relocation of Don Warne, the prior associate dean, to Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Haynes assumed her new role earlier this month.

“I believe in the value and power of building community and providing opportunities for meaningful dialogue among constituencies,” said Dr. Haynes, noting how excited she is to be joining UND. “Connecting with each other on our similarities and embracing our differences will help build that community and increase a sense of belonging for everyone. In the words of Chief Seattle, of the Suquamish and Duwamish people in the Pacific Northwest, ‘All things are connected like the blood that unites us all.’”

Coming to the SMHS from Kansas, Dr. Haynes earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2009 and a post-doctoral certificate in multicultural education from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2013. After earning a certificate in psychiatric mental health nursing in 2021 from the University of New Hampshire, she founded Haynes Health & Wellness, LLC, a psychiatric mental health practice, in 2022.

Long interested in DEI efforts as they apply to health education, Dr. Haynes brings over 16 years of institutional experience with DEI to UND. She has experience facilitating difficult conversations and helping promote meaningful dialogue on topics related to race, equity, and bias. She has also moderated multiple panels and provided customized workshops on cultural awareness and diversity issues in higher education and healthcare.

This experience aligns well with a position designed to help embed DEI discussions and concepts into health education. The Associate Dean for DEI will also collaborate with the Dean and department chairs at the SMHS to establish or expand partnerships with regional Indigenous tribes, the Indian Health Service, and other agencies in order to expand clinical sites that will expose learners to diverse patient populations.

Dr. Haynes’s healthcare experience includes critical care, retail health, school-based clinics, urgent care, public health, home health, internal medicine, and psychiatry. She is also a Culture Advisory Board member for FA Davis Publishing where she reviews textbooks to ensure they are free from bias and has written a chapter on the social determinants of health for nursing students. She was also recently appointed Vice Chair of the Johnson County (Kansas) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coalition.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Haynes to UND and the SMHS,” said Joshua Wynne, M.D., M.B.A., M.P.H., UND’s vice president for health affairs and dean of the SMHS. “Her enthusiasm and commitment to inclusiveness are palpable. Dr. Haynes will help us achieve excellence in the equity and affinity core values embodied in the UND LEADS Strategic Plan: learning, equity, affinity, discovery, and service.”

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Brian James Schill
Director, Office of Alumni & Community Relations
UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences
701.777.6048 direct | 701.777.4305 office
brian.schill@UND.edu  |  www.UND.edu