Dr. Elizabeth Snyder is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and joined Georgia Southern University in the fall of 2023. She teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses and is active in clinical practice as a Family Nurse Practitioner. 

My leadership philosophy is grounded in two complementary frameworks: Servant Leadership and Transformational Leadership. As a servant leader, I value working alongside colleagues, modeling the responsibilities I expect from others. As a transformational leader, I strive to motivate and inspire others toward excellence. I believe effective leadership requires flexibility and the ability to integrate multiple styles to encourage innovation, collaboration, and growth within an academic community.

On July 1, 2024, I was appointed Interim Associate Chair in the School of Nursing, a role I held through mid-December, 2024. In mid-December, I was asked to also assume Chair responsibilities during the current Chair’s leave of absence. This dual role provided a valuable opportunity to contribute meaningfully during a critical time for the School. As Interim Acting Chair, I led biweekly leadership meetings with the leadership team, managed student appeals and concerns, facilitated faculty/student interventions, and participated in institutional meetings with the Provost, Dean, and Vice Chancellor for Healthcare at the University System of Georgia regarding undergraduate program expansion.

Other notable accomplishments during this time included:

● Completion of all Faculty Annual Evaluations (FAEs)

● Implementation of four new Performance Review Plans (PRPs) based on FAE results

● Evaluation of the previous year’s PRPs and development of three new PRPs based on major review portfolio outcomes

● Planning and execution of two full faculty meetings, including the final meeting of the academic year

● Organization and leadership of the annual Community of Interest meeting, a key accreditation requirement involving faculty, students, alumni, and community partners

Additional responsibilities included oversight of the School’s immediate budgetary needs, inventory of equipment and supply requests, and the assignment of teaching responsibilities for Summer 2025. During Summer 2025, I also assisted the Interim Chair in the recruitment of part-time clinical faculty for the Fall 2025 semester and continued ongoing writing and revision of the School of Nursings CCNE Accreditation document due in October 2025. As I continue to build upon my leadership capabilities, I remain committed to fostering a departmental culture that values collaboration, accountability, and both faculty and student success. I plan to pursue additional professional development opportunities to strengthen my leadership competencies. I stepped down from my leadership duties August of 2025 to refocus on scholarly endeavors.  I remain committed to future leadership roles as part of my long-term professional trajectory.  

My teaching philosophy is rooted in student-centered and active learning approaches, with the goal of facilitating the progression from novice to expert in the field of nursing. As nursing education continues to evolve beyond traditional lecture-based delivery, I embrace dynamic and interactive instructional methods—including flipped classroom designs, particularly for synchronous undergraduate courses. My early experience in face-to-face undergraduate instruction helped lay the foundation for more progressive, evidence-based teaching practices. I actively integrate collaborative and group learning strategies to foster critical thinking and engagement. Over the years, I have pursued professional development in team-based learning, problem-based learning, and most recently, competency-based education. In the online environment, I emphasize alignment of course objectives with national standards, including purposeful integration of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials, to ensure rigor, clarity, and accreditation compliance.

Scholarship remains a high priority in my professional development and aligns with the mission of Georgia Southern University and the School of Nursing. I actively contribute to multiple dimensions of scholarship as defined by Boyer’s Model, including:

● The Scholarship of Discovery

● The Scholarship of Application

● The Scholarship of Integration

● The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Over the course of my academic career, my scholarly focus has evolved to reflect personal, clinical, and institutional priorities. Recent efforts emphasize palliative and hospice care, closely tied to my current practice as a hospice nurse practitioner. Earlier work concentrated on telehealth education and its integration into nursing curricula—particularly during my tenure at the Medical University of South Carolina. Below is a summary of my scholarly contributions since joining Georgia Southern University in 2023.