Honoring Dr. Wilsie S. Bishop

JOHNSON CITY – East Tennessee State University’s Interprofessional Education and Research Center, also known as Building 60, on the Veterans Affairs Medical Center Campus will now be called “Bishop Hall” in honor of longtime administrator Dr. Wilsie S. Bishop, senior vice president for academic and interim provost. Bishop is retiring on June 30, 2021, after 43 years of service at ETSU.

The ETSU Board of Trustees approved the naming of Bishop Hall at its special called meeting on June 15, 2021. On June 18, the ETSU community gathered to celebrate Bishop’s contributions to the university with a reception that was held on the lawn of the newly named Bishop Hall. 

Special guests spoke about her legacy to the university, including her leadership of ETSU’s interprofessional education initiative. Bishop has been a longtime champion for interprofessional training at ETSU, going back to the mid-1980s when the university received a $6.1 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to launch our Community Partnerships for Health Professions Education Program.  

The naming of the Interprofessional Education and Research Center in her honor serves as a lasting tribute to her great legacy and the profound way she has transformed ETSU and the lives of its students, faculty, and staff.

“I feel incredibly blessed to have been a part of this university,” Bishop said. “It has been a joy to be part of the growth, to be part of the significance it has had in this region and this community.”

Bishop's legacy at ETSU

Bishop came to ETSU as a temporary faculty member in the College of Nursing in 1978. Since that time, she earned tenure and progressed through the faculty ranks, serving in administrative roles including department chair, dean, and assistant/associate vice president prior to becoming a vice president in 2005. While serving in various administrative roles, she has continued to be a classroom teacher as well as a mentor for doctoral and graduate students. 

Throughout her career at ETSU, Bishop has observed and been a part of many important changes at the university. After 11 years of serving as Dean of the College of Public and Allied Health, Bishop was appointed Vice President for Administration and Chief Operating Officer of the university in 2005. This role took her out of the academic arena and into university operations when she assumed responsibility for Athletics, Facilities Planning, Human Resources, Information Technology, Public Safety and Student Affairs. However, her academic background provided a context for decision-making and communication with faculty and staff that was invaluable for her and in many ways for the university.

In 2007, she transitioned to Vice President for Health Affairs, becoming the first non-physician to hold the VPHA title. In this position, she embraced and led the university’s Interprofessional Education Initiative (IPE) and the team-based care that it embodied as the future of quality health care delivery. Through the IPE efforts, ETSU not only created opportunities for shared classroom experiences, but was able to create a building where team-based learning is the priority and students can work and study together in preparation for their future careers as health care providers. The Interprofessional Education and Research Center (Building 60) on the Veterans Administration campus is a physical symbol of vision becoming reality.  

Bishop also oversaw the launch of the ETSU Health brand in 2019, which unified the educational, clinical and research pursuits of ETSU’s five health sciences colleges, more than 250 providers and 35 clinical sites.

In her most recent role as Senior Vice President for Academics and Interim Provost, Bishop has focused on bringing together under one management umbrella the academic affairs and health affairs colleges of the university.

Bishop received her Doctor of Public Administration degree from the University of Southern California from which she also earned a Masters of Public Administration and a Masters of Education.  She holds a Masters of Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University.  She has been recognized by both of her alma maters for her career achievements. In 2013, she was inducted into the Tennessee Women’s Hall of Fame.

Active in peer review accreditation, in 2019, Dr. Bishop received the James T. Rogers Distinguished Leadership award from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the highest award given by the Commission.