
Joanne Disch, PhD, RN, FAAN
Dr. Joanne Disch serves as chair of the Chamberlain University Board of Trustees. She is currently Professor ad Honorem at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing and also serves as chair of the board of directors of Advocate Aurora Health.
Dr. Disch began her career as a staff nurse in cardiovascular intensive care. She has served as a chief nurse executive in two major medical centers and as interim dean at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. She has also served as president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and the American Academy of Nursing, and as board member and chair of the national board of AARP.
Her research has centered on nurse-physician relationships and on quality and safety within healthcare organizations. In 2014, she and two colleagues co-authored the award-winning text Person and Family Centered Care. She has received many awards for her work including two from Sigma Theta Tau International; the President’s Award from the American Academy of Nursing; and the Marguerite Rodgers Kinney Award for a Distinguished Career from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. She has also received the Distinguished Alumna Award from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Most recently, Dr. Disch was named by the American Academy of Nursing as a Living Legend.
She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; her Master of Science in Nursing in Cardiovascular Nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham; and her Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing from the University of Michigan.