7 Questions for Nursing’s New Dean, Justin DiLibero

“They say nursing runs in the family. My grandmother was a nurse, my cousin was a nurse, my aunt was a nurse and, of course, I am a nurse. As a child I was always interested in the sciences and I’ve always been interested in helping others,” says Justin DiLibero, dean of Rhode Island College’s Zvart Onanian School of Nursing.

DiLibero was 18 years old and fresh out of high school when he began working as a nurse’s aide at a long-term-care facility in Massachusetts.

“I fell in love with the work,” he says. “At such a young age, it was transformative for me. That’s when I knew that nursing was my calling.”

The young man went on to earn his B.S.N., M.S.N. and DNP all while working as a critical care nurse in the medical ICU of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. As a critical care nurse with a DNP in leadership, not only was DiLibero involved in hands-on nursing, he was heavily involved in education, research, program development and quality improvement. 

In 2018 DiLibero transferred these skills to Rhode Island College when he joined the graduate nursing faculty at the Zvart Onanian School of Nursing. Within a year, he was appointed director of the new Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program. In 2021 he was named graduate nursing chair, while continuing his role as DNP director. In 2022 he was appointed interim dean, and in 2024, at age 46, he transitioned from interim dean to the permanent role.

Recently, we sat down with DiLibero to talk about his journey and his vision for RIC’s school of nursing.

1. What were some of the challenges you faced when you first came on as interim dean?

When I came into the role of interim dean in 2022, I came at a very dynamic time. We were coming back from the COVID pandemic. Nationwide, there was decreased enrollment in B.S.N. programs, and for the first time in 20 years, our nursing school, too, was facing declining enrollment.

At the same time, new accreditation standards were being released that required we really look at our curriculum and identify opportunities to take it to the next level. The new standards focused on a competency-based curriculum, ensuring that our graduates are prepared to meet the changing needs of the healthcare environment.

We already had a strong program and curriculum to start with, but there are always areas and opportunities for improvement. For instance, our new, fully online RN-to-B.S.N. program stems from our new accreditation requirements. And last semester I had the privilege of developing a new course for incoming freshman and to co-teach it with another faculty member called NURS 100. This course is meant to enhance the competencies intended majors will need to be successful in the program. It is also designed to help them build peer support as soon as they enter college.

2. So, you are still teaching as dean? How does teaching inform your leadership role?

Everything we do as an institution and as a school of nursing is about supporting our students. You can’t do that without knowing who your students are. Along with teaching freshmen, I also continue to work with doctoral students, guiding them through their doctoral projects. 

Teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels allows me to connect with students in a way that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. It also allows me to stay connected and to know what’s happening in the classroom, to know how students are progressing across the curriculum at every level.

3. Your experiences as a young college student is similar to many RIC students, isn’t it? Can you talk about your first year in college?

I started at Worcester State, which is now Worcester State University. I was a commuter student. In my freshman year, my car broke down and I had to pause my education to work full time so I could buy a new car so I could continue my education. That’s when I ended up taking a position as a nurse’s aide in long-term care, which is also where I found my passion for nursing. When I went back to school, I switched to a community college and earned my associate’s degree in nursing. That associate’s degree allowed me to become licensed as an RN and fund the rest of my education. I worked full time through it all.

At RIC, our students are diverse on every level – race, ethnicity, gender, in their experiences, in their backgrounds, in their perspectives, and a good percentage of our students are first-generation students. They bring strengths and unique needs. What is needed to support our students is not only what we do in the classroom, but we, as faculty, must understand the social determinants of learning.

4. How do you instill social determinants of learning?

It starts with education, such as educational forums led by our students and our student associations. Three times a year we have school of nursing faculty-wide workshops to ensure that faculty are learning about and developing the competencies necessary to launch the new curriculum, whether that learning is about curriculum design, active learning, experiential learning and/or meeting the diversity needs of our students.

5. Can you describe your leadership style?

I would describe myself as a servant leader and a transformational leader. A transformational leader requires that we have a vision for the future and the ability to translate that vision into strategy, action and outcomes. But the core of who I am is a servant leader. That means my focus is on serving the needs of our community beginning with our students.

6. How is RIC’s school of nursing vital to the greater Rhode Island community?

I don’t think you will find what we have here anywhere else in the country. As the only regional comprehensive institution in the state, more than 85 percent of our students are residents of the state and more than 85 percent of our students live and work in the state. From that perspective, our institution plays a critical role in meeting the needs of the nursing workforce at every level. When I talk to the leaders in the practice setting, their perspective is that we have a shared mission – to optimize the health of our communities, and we can’t do that in silos. We have to do that together.

7. What does the future hold for the school of nursing?

The goal is to continue to build on the strengths of the school. We are now seeing a return to pre-pandemic enrollments. In fact, we are expecting historic enrollments. We are starting from a place of strength. We pride ourselves in the quality of our programs. Every year we are among the top one or two institutions in the state with the highest first-time pass rate on the board exam. Our seven-year average puts us at number one. To achieve such extraordinary outcomes speaks to the quality of our school and our ability to meet and support our students. The goal is to make sure our programs remain on the cutting edge, that the school of nursing continues to be recognized for its excellence.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Visit the Zvart Onanian School of Nursing.