Dr. Tish Smyer is an associate professor and the associate dean for academic affairs. She teaches Nurs 451 Leadership and Management in Nursing and the online Nurs 706 Nursing Theory and the Research Process. 

As associate dean, Dr. Smyer oversees current academic programs, leads the school in the preparation of federal training grants, and serves as a resource to faculty in the teaching mission of the university.

Dr. Smyer’s area of expertise is the aging prison inmate and American Indian elderly. Dr. Smyer has been active in the institutional grant arena to support American Indian Nurse education (Indian Health Service Wokunze Project) and was involved in the development of the PhD in Nursing Program at South Dakota State University.

She has served as a reviewer for the Health Resources and Services Administration in the Advanced Education Nurse Practice Grant, the Nurse Education, Practice and Retention Grant, and Division of Independent Review (DIR) MCHB/Continuing Education Distance Learning Grants. She also reviewed for the Irish Health Board related to elderly prisoner projects. Dr. Smyer was a Fuld Fellow (Helene Fuld Health Trust) of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Leadership for Academic Nursing Program. She has been a Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) reviewer since 1999.

Biographical Sketch