Dr. Barbé was appointed interim dean after Linda Streit, Ph.D., announced she would step aside after 12 years as dean to return to the faculty of the state’s longest-established nursing program.

Prior to being named interim dean, Dr. Barbé served as a professor and oversaw the College’s graduate programs. Dr. Barbé joined Mercer’s faculty in 2012 and was promoted to associate dean in 2018.

“Working alongside the dedicated and talented faculty, staff, students and alumni of Mercer’s Georgia Baptist College of Nursing has been a privilege,” said Dr. Barbé. “I am honored to serve as the next dean of the longest-standing nursing program in Georgia, embracing our legacy of excellence as we develop and implement innovative educational models to prepare great nurses to meet the healthcare needs of diverse populations.”

Dr. Barbé has overseen the College of Nursing’s Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Nurse Faculty Loan Program and served as student and faculty development coordinator for the College.

She has more than 25 years of nursing experience and is a certified nurse educator (CNE). She has been honored as an American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Elevating Leaders in Academic Nursing (ELAN) Fellow, an AACN Faculty Policy Intensive Fellow and a Georgia Governor’s Teaching Fellow.

Dr. Barbé is a past recipient of the College of Nursing’s Distinguished Faculty Member of the Year Award and the Susan Sweat Gunby Excellence in Nursing Award from the Pi Gamma Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International honor society. In 2019, she was inducted into the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing Alumni Association’s Hall of Honor for excellence in mentoring.

Her research interests include nursing professional development, nurse educator and clinician competence and the scholarship of teaching and learning. She has authored national and international publications and presentations and has been an invited speaker at education-focused conferences, including the Magna Publications Teaching Professor Conference.

Dr. Barbé earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing from the University of South Alabama, followed by her Ph.D. in nursing education from the University of Northern Colorado.