Newswise — Sheldon D. Fields, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, joined NYIT (New York Institute of Technology) on Jan. 3 as dean of the School of Health Professions. With more than 25 years of experience in nursing, research, higher education, and health policy analysis, Fields will oversee the school’s five allied health degree programs comprising more than 100 full- and part-time faculty and 785 students. In his new role, he will also work on building on the school’s research infrastructure, adding programs at NYIT’s non-U.S. campuses, expanding alumni relations and development activities, and recruiting and retaining a diverse base of expert faculty, staff, and students.
Fields received his Ph.D. in nursing science from the University of Pennsylvania and M.S. and B.S. degrees in nursing from Binghamton (N.Y.) University. He also completed post-doctoral studies at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California, San Francisco, and earned a Legal Nurse Consultant certificate from the University of Rochester. He is a nationally board certified Family Nurse Practitioner and an advanced HIV/AIDS certified registered nurse.
“We are fortunate to have someone whose exceptional experience and credentials can lead NYIT and its School of Health Professions to a whole new level in a number of areas,” said Jerry Balentine, D.O., NYIT vice president for medical affairs and global health. “Dr. Fields has participated in HIV prevention and other research that has garnered more than $20 million in funding, and has been actively involved in national health policy at the highest levels.”
Prior to joining NYIT, Fields served as chief wellness officer, dean, and professor of the Mervyn M. Dymally School of Nursing at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, California (2015 – 2016). From 2011 to 2015, he was assistant dean of clinical affairs and health policy, associate professor of nursing, and co-director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program in the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences at Florida International University in Miami, Florida. He also has held faculty positions at the University of Rochester (N.Y.) School of Nursing and Binghamton University. Fields’s extensive research on HIV prevention and treatment among black men has spanned decades, resulting in an impressive record of conference and poster presentations, scholarly articles, book chapters, seminars, invited lectures, webinars, and newspaper articles, as well as radio and television appearances.
“Joining NYIT was an immense opportunity to lead a comprehensive school of health professions with five departments, allowing for the interdisciplinary training necessary in our ever-evolving, complex health care industry,” said Fields. “I look forward to joining the NYIT family and working with all of the faculty, staff, and students to continue to improve the global reach of the School of Health Professions.”
In addition to his academic and research accomplishments, Fields was the first ever male registered nurse selected for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellowship Program. As a fellow, he worked in Washington, D.C. for United States Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions—Subcommittee on Aging during the historic healthcare reform debates and 2009-10 passage of the Affordable Care Act.
Fields’s professional contributions have been recognized with inductions as a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners; the National Academies of Practice—Nursing Academy; and the American Academy of Nursing. He is a lifetime member of the National Black Nurses Association and a former national director of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC). For his service to ANAC, he was awarded its President's Award in 2006 and the inaugural Helen Miramontes Advocacy Award in 2016.