Alicia Franco, PhD, RN

Dr. Alicia Franco is the Chair for the Department of Nursing at Adventist University of Health Sciences (ADU), in Orlando, Florida, since 2016. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) with specialty in Clinical Psychology, and a Master (MSN) in Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing from Catholic University. She also holds a bachelor’s degree (BSN) in nursing from Cordoba State University, Argentina. Dr. Franco clinical experience took place in settings such as Intensive Care Units and Mental Health Clinics with partial hospitalization. Her teaching experience is in Mental Health and Research for undergraduate and graduate nursing programs.

Before arriving to ADU, Dr. Franco was the Dean for the School of Health Sciences at Antillean Adventist University in Puerto Rico. This school houses seven programs which are all accredited by USA accreditation agencies.

In her role as Nursing Chair for the Orlando and Denver campuses, Dr. Franco lead the CCNE accreditation team. The Adventist University of Health Science’s BSN programs (GBSN and RN-BSN) were granted accreditation in 2017. Dr. Franco is engaged in developing new Nursing programs. In Summer 2018, the Department of Nursing will start a MSN Program with two tracks in Leadership and Management and Education. A Family Nurse Practitioner Program is planning for 2019.