Aug. 28, 1928 – December 27, 2014
Dr. Norma Mobley will long be remembered as a visionary leader in nursing education in the state of Alabama. Characterized by her friends and colleagues as a dynamic trail blazer, a master teacher, and a person with a passion for advancing nursing as a profession, Dr. Mobley has left a vast positive influence on our state.
Dr. Mobley began her career in education as a faculty member at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing in 1952. She held positions that included professor, chair of the Department of Maternal-Infant Nursing, and assistant dean of the baccalaureate program. She led numerous curriculum innovations, most notably, the establishment of a preceptorship experience where nurses could model behaviors that ease the transition from student to practicing nurse.
Named the 4th Dean of The University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing in 1982, Dr. Mobley focused on expanding the capacity of the nursing program through faculty development, recruitment and retention, and the transformation of nursing curricula. During her tenure in Tuscaloosa, she removed barriers for registered nurses to earn a baccalaureate degree, and guided the college to significant increases in grant funding, publications, and research.
Dr. Mobley graduated from Baptist Hospital School of Nursing in Birmingham in 1949. She went on to obtain her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from The University of Alabama, which was a rarity when Dr. Mobley began her career. In her four decades as a nurse educator, she paid it forward by opening the door of opportunity for many who followed in her footsteps.