Barbara Bates-Jensen named interim dean of UCLA Joe C. Wen School of Nursing

UCLA Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Darnell Hunt sent the following message to the campus community on April 22, 2026. 

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce that Barbara M. Bates-Jensen — professor of nursing and medicine and associate dean of academic affairs — has agreed to serve as interim dean of the UCLA Joe C. Wen School of Nursing, beginning Aug. 1, 2026, as Lin Zhan concludes her tenure as dean on July 31, 2026. Dr. Bates-Jensen will serve through approximately June 30, 2027, or until such time that a dean is identified and onboarded. The search for the next dean will commence in the 2026–27 academic year, and Paul Micevych will continue to serve as senior associate dean through Dec. 31, 2026.

A member of the UCLA faculty for nearly 25 years, Dr. Bates-Jensen, known fondly as Dr. BBJ, is internationally recognized for her clinical research highlighting wound care best practices and eliminating the disparities that exist in the detection of skin and tissue damage among persons of color. With the mission of ensuring that no patient suffers because of the color of their skin, Dr. Bates-Jensen is a pioneer in the field of detecting medium and dark skin tones for skin damage, and regularly works with vulnerable populations like nursing home residents and veterans with spinal cord injuries. For 10 years, Dr. Bates-Jensen led medical missions to underresourced countries to provide the knowledge and infrastructure to improve wound care.

Working with UCLA professors in computer science and bioengineering, Dr. Bates-Jensen helped invent a wound care medical device, the SEM Scanner, that measures skin and tissue damage before it becomes visible on the skin’s surface. The device was FDA approved in late 2019 and is used by hospitals in the United States and globally for early detection of pressure injuries (also known as pressure ulcers or bedsores). She is also the author and developer of the Bates-Jensen Wound Assessment Tool, used worldwide for chronic wound assessment and incorporated into multiple electronic health records. As associate dean of academic affairs with the School of Nursing since 2023, Dr. Bates-Jensen was instrumental in launching the Post Bachelor of Science to Doctor of Nursing Practice (Post BS-DNP) Program and preparing the school for an Academic Senate review.

Dr. Bates-Jensen is a widely published author and has been recognized for her work and contributions, including receiving the 2021 Kosiak Award from the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel. She was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing in 2010 and the Association for Advancement of Wound Care in 2020; and as an honorary fellow into the Wound, Ostomy, Continence Nurses Society in 2025. She has been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care’s board of directors since 2008, and is currently serving as past president. Dr. Bates-Jensen received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Nebraska and both her Master of Nursing and Ph.D. in Nursing from UCLA.

Given her longstanding service at UCLA and many contributions to the school and to the field of nursing, Chancellor Frenk and I are confident that Barbara will provide the skill, leadership and continuity necessary to maintain excellence at the School of Nursing. Please join us in congratulating her and welcoming her to this new role.