Strategic faculty recruitment and development in a research-intensive school of nursing: A case for a mission-driven,...

The competition for nursing faculty has reached a crisis point, with over 2000 schools of nursing vying for a shrinking pool of qualified candidates. This shortage hits research-intensive institutions hardest because nurses may delay entry into academic research careers following extended clinical practice. Although strategic faculty recruitment and development in research-intensive institutions is critical for advancing science, little is known about successful organizational strategies implemented within research-intensive schools of nursing. This article presents organizational strategies for recruiting and developing research-intensive nursing faculty through a mission-driven, human-centered approach at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University. The authors highlight three key approaches: mission-aligned recruitment practices, human-centered approaches to creating supportive environments, and the integration of individual- and organization-centered approaches to faculty development. Success requires recruiting faculty with diverse disciplinary expertise, implementing transparent processes, and achieving a balance between individual career aspirations and institutional research, education, and service priorities. As federal research priorities rapidly evolve and the shortage of research-intensive nursing faculty deepens, institutions must invest in adaptive recruitment strategies, robust mentoring programs, and equitable resource allocation to build sustainable research capacity and leadership pipelines.