Sheldon D. Fields Joins NYIT as Dean of the School of Health Professions

Sheldon D. Fields, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, has joined NYIT as the new dean of NYIT School of Health Professions. He brings more than 25 years of experience in nursing, research, higher education, and health policy analysis to NYIT, where he will oversee the school’s five allied health degree programs.

“Joining NYIT was an immense opportunity to lead a comprehensive school of health professions with five departments, allowing for the interdisciplinary training possibilities necessary in our ever-evolving, complex healthcare industry,” he said.

Fields also plans to focus on building the School of Health Professions’ research infrastructure, adding programs at NYIT’s non-U.S. campuses, expanding alumni relations and development activities, and recruiting and retaining a diverse base of faculty and staff members and students.

Fields’s expertise lies in HIV/AIDS research and prevention; he is an advanced HIV/AIDS certified registered nurse. “I have participated in more than $20 million of research projects that focus on HIV prevention that have been funded by National Institutes of Health and other governmental agencies,” said Fields, who in his spare time participates in extreme sports like the Tough Mudder.

A native New Yorker and the youngest of six children, he is also a nationally board certified Family Nurse Practitioner. Prior to joining NYIT, he served as chief wellness officer, dean, and professor of the Mervyn M. Dymally School of Nursing at Charles R. Drew University in Los Angeles, Calif., and assistant dean of clinical affairs and health policy, associate professor of nursing, and co-director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program in the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing & Health Sciences at Florida International University in Miami. He has also held faculty positions at the University of Rochester (N.Y.) School of Nursing and Binghamton University.

Outside the classroom, Fields was selected as the first-ever male registered nurse for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellowship Program. As a fellow, he worked in Washington D.C. for United States Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions’ Subcommittee on Aging during the historic healthcare reform debates and 2009-2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act.

“We are fortunate to have someone whose exceptional experience and credentials can lead NYIT and its School of Health Professions to a whole new level in a number of areas,” said Jerry Balentine, D.O. NYIT vice president for medical affairs and global health.

“I look forward to joining the NYIT family and working with all of the faculty, staff, and students to continue to improve the global reach of the School of Health Professions,” said Fields.