Veteran educator excited for innovation opportunities with faculty, students
BLOOMINGTON, Minn.—Northwestern Health Sciences University has named Deb Bushway as Provost, the chief academic officer working with faculty and staff to oversee curriculum and all educational offerings.
Fresh off an engagement with U.S. Department of Education, Bushway comes to Northwestern after a 30-year career that has included work as a psychologist; a professor and administrator at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul; and as a Dean, Provost, Interim President and Vice President of Capella University in Minneapolis. She also has worked as a consultant with clients including the University of Wisconsin Extension.
“Deb brings an unmatched set of professional experiences to this important role at a time of opportunity and change at our university,” said Northwestern President Christopher Cassirer, who worked with her during his time as President of Capella. “We are fortunate to have her leadership and knowledge as we work to create the premier health sciences university and train the next generation of health-care leaders.”
Bushway’s career in higher education has been marked by consistent work in areas of new thinking and innovation, including as a professor, a dean, a top university administrator and a consultant.
“I do like to work in the future, to design solutions to problems and work on innovation and policy,” she said. “But it’s the combination of imagining the future and then being able to implement changes that I like most.”
She sees many opportunities for that as she begins in her new role at Northwestern.
“It can be in delivery of education, it can be in outcomes,” Bushway said. “I’m interested in how we leverage strong foundation and the many talents across Northwestern Health Sciences University and focus them on meeting the needs of our students. We have so many exciting opportunities that we’ll have to prioritize.”
As a practicing psychologist, she understands the personal and societal importance of health and wellness.
“The practitioners we are training at Northwestern are exactly the experts we need,” she said.
Bushway is excited to enhance educational offerings and accessibility at Northwestern.
“I see this as a partnership,” she said. “My main goal is to take the strengths and values here and help bring Northwestern into its next phase as we advance our work in interdisciplinary research and inter-professional health-care education.”
Northwestern, based in Bloomington, provides world-class professional education and research as well as comprehensive health and wellness services. Its more than 130 faculty members annually teach about 6,500 students pursuing degrees and continuing education in accredited programs in chiropractic, acupuncture, therapeutic massage, nutrition and other health treatments. The university, which celebrates its 75 th anniversary in 2016, has more than 7,500 graduates throughout the U.S. and in 21 countries.