Wendy M. Likes, PhD, DNSc, APRN-BC, has been appointed permanent dean for the college of nursing at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) following about 10 months as interim dean.
Likes will serve as the lead administrator for the college with responsibility for managing a team of more than 105 faculty and staff members.
A three-time alumna, Likes earned her MSN, DNSc and PhD from the UTHSC College of Nursing and has been a nurse since 1994. Prior to her appointment as interim dean, she served for more than two years as associate dean and chair for Advanced Practice and Doctoral Studies.
As dean, she will hold the Ruth Neil Murry Endowed Chair in Nursing. Dr. Likes is also executive director for UT Medical Group's Center for HPV and Dysplasia, which focuses on the detection and treatment of HPV-related conditions. She has been evaluating and treating diseases of the lower genital tract for more than 15 years and was instrumental in making the center one of a few practices in the South offering a procedure to detect pre-cancerous anal cancer, providing an essential service for the community.