Carol S. Lang

Dr. Carol S. Lang serves as Interim Director of Global Initiatives and Associate Professor at the George Washington University School of Nursing. A founding faculty member of the School of Nursing, she has provided leadership in global health education, international partnership development, community engagement, interprofessional education, and innovative experiential learning for more than 15 years. 

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Lang served as Director of Community and Global Initiatives, where she led the development and expansion of the School of Nursing's international and community partnerships. Her work established and strengthened academic and clinical collaborations with universities, health systems, nongovernmental organizations, and community partners in Haiti, Uganda, Ecuador, Costa Rico, South Korea, China, Slovenia and Hungary. Under her leadership, the Global Initiatives program expanded from a single international partnership to a network of 8 partners, including seven universities, and more than 300 GW Nursing students and faculty participated in international learning experiences. She also developed international visiting scholar programs that brought faculty and health professionals to GW Nursing for academic, clinical, simulation, community, and cultural experiences. 

A major focus of Dr. Lang's academic leadership is the integration of global health competencies and international perspectives into nursing education. She developed a Global Health course with an interdisciplinary focus coordinating, teaching and integrating Global Health concepts across undergraduate and graduate programs. Her curriculum and scholarship incorporate social determinants of health, health equity, cultural and contextual perspectives, community engagement, interprofessional collaboration, and experiential learning.

Dr. Lang has advanced the use of international communities as experiential learning environments through initiatives such as "Haiti as Classroom," connecting students with community partners while integrating education, service, research, and reflection. Her scholarship has examined international community engagement, global health competencies, sustainable partnerships, international nursing education, and approaches to preparing health professions students for global practice. Her national and international leadership includes service with the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) Global Health Competencies Subcommittee, where she contributed to efforts to identify interprofessional global health competencies for 21st-century health professionals. Her scholarly contributions include peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, invited papers, podium and poster presentations, curriculum development, and externally funded initiatives supporting global health education and international service-learning. 

Through her teaching, scholarship, and leadership, Dr. Lang is committed to preparing nurses and other health professionals to address complex health challenges through global leadership, collaborative practice, culturally responsive care, community partnership, and a commitment to health equity.