Letter from Dean Mason

Dear Friends of the College,

I am honored to share that I have been named Dean of the WSU College of Nursing – a role I step into with deep gratitude, and a sense of belonging that has been building for most of my life.

That belonging began in my hometown of Walla Walla, where a Running Start CNA program gave me my first taste of patient care. Additionally, my grandmother, a 1938 graduate of Deaconess School of Nursing in Spokane, and I traded nursing stories over the years; when she asked what she could give me for a graduation gift, she was surprised when I identified I needed a new a stethoscope, equipment that in her day only physicians used. Through stories like hers and other nurse mentors, along with watching them practice with kindness and compassion, I was constantly reminded that this was the profession I wanted to belong to. Then, my first job as a Registered Nurse, in a rural Washington hospital, introduced me to psychiatric nursing – the specialty that has shaped my career and commitment to underserved communities ever since.

This thread led me back to WSU (ICNE at the time), where I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Nursing degrees – so leading this college feels like a full-circle moment. While in my master’s program, a chance to be a teaching assistant with gifted faculty gave me the urge to consider academia in addition to practicing as a nurse practitioner. Later, as full-time academia became my goal, I pursued my Doctor of Nursing Practice at the University of Colorado-Denver, the birthplace of the nurse practitioner role. Over the past two decades, I have served this college in nearly every capacity: faculty, PMHNP program coordinator, DNP program director, associate dean, and interim dean. Few have known this college from so many angles.

Scholarship support, including the Scottish Rite of Washington, made this path possible for me – and I’ve never forgotten it. Giving back, in ways large and small, is how I try to live out the values this college instilled in me: compassion, accountability, and an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunities for students and the communities they will serve. I’ve come to appreciate how much thoughtful, long-term giving – including through one’s estate – can shape a student’s future.

A psychiatric nurse practitioner since 2005, and a published scholar in nursing education, telehealth, and mental health, I’ve built my career one door at a time – a philosophy I still share with students: “I didn’t achieve this through one big idea. I walked through one door, saw an opportunity, and took the next step.” That’s how I intend to lead, expanding access to education and care so Washington can meet its increasing need for nurses.

I will be touring the state soon and would appreciate hearing from anyone who is interested in meeting with me. Thank you for everything you do for this college. Together, we will continue preparing the next generation of nurses and advancing the health of our communities.

Go Coug Nurses!

Anne Mason, DNP, ARNP, PMHNP-BC, ’02, ’05
Dean, WSU College of Nursing
nursing.deansoffice@wsu.edu