Nursing School's Graduate Director To Retire In May 2005

by Judy Long

Dr. Pauline Johnson, director of graduate programs at Baylor University's Louise Herrington School of Nursing, will retire in May 2005 after 15 years of guiding graduate studies in the school. Johnson came to Baylor in 1990 when the school began a master's program with a degree in patient care management, now called the advanced nursing leadership track.
Dr. Judy Wright Lott, dean of the nursing school, said Johnson is leaving an enduring mark. "Dr. Johnson, along with our graduate faculty, has created a dynamic graduate program that is ranked 58th in the nation by US News and World Report, despite being a relatively young program. We will miss her enthusiasm, friendly smile, and innovative ideas. We wish her the best of luck as she enters the world of full-time grandmothering," she said.
Johnson, whose primary area of expertise is research principles, teaches a course in graduate level research and another in leadership. She has conducted extensive research of her own on asthma in school children, publishing in reviewed journals, including the Journal of Asthma and the Journal of School Health. She and research partner Dr. Mark Millard finished a large study last year that examines the best ways to treat children with asthma.
Johnson also has worked with numerous organizations as a consultant on treatment of asthma for children, and she plans to continue these projects. Currently she consults for the Martha Foster Lung Center in the Baylor Health Care System and the Dallas Independent School District, with whom she consults on a grant they received from the Center for Disease Control.
She also will continue serving on the Baylor Health Care System research review board. Johnson was the first nurse to join the board in 1994, and she has served on it since then.
"Otherwise, I am going to try to become a normal person," Johnson said, referring to her busy schedule and one-hour commute from Plano in heavy traffic each day.
"I want to be involved with my five grandchildren. But I'll keep my finger in nursing," she said.
Johnson says she will miss the interaction with her students. As director of the graduate program, she has been involved with every aspect of graduate student life at the school.
"I've done recruiting, financial aid, advising, served as student advocate and planned course scheduling for the graduate program," she said.
"It's been a great time for me. I loved teaching at Baylor. Before I came, I interviewed everywhere--even Hawaii--and Baylor seemed like the best fit. It's been so neat, if students needed someone to pray with them, to be able to do it. The faculty pray together and support each other, too," she said. "Baylor has been a wonderful place to work."
Johnson received the outstanding tenured teacher award in 2000 and the outstanding faculty scholarship award in 2002. She also serves on the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, a national nursing accrediting agency. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees at Northwestern State University of Louisiana and her doctorate at Texas Women's University.