Laika Steiger has been named the senior associate dean for administration and operations in the University of Georgia’s Victoria Kay Ivester School of Nursing.

Steiger brings more than two decades of leadership experience spanning academic health centers, healthcare systems and higher education. She joined UGA after serving as associate dean of clinical practice operations and executive director of the Emory Nursing Learning Center at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. 

In her current role, Steiger provides administrative and operational leadership for the Ivester School of Nursing. Working closely with Founding Dean Carolyn K. Clevenger, Steiger is building the infrastructure, systems and partnerships needed to launch the school’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and support its long-term growth. She oversees finance, human resources, facilities, information technology, clinical education infrastructure, accreditation readiness, and simulation and educational technology operations for the new school.

“Laika has spent her career building the kind of programs and partnerships that bridge higher education and healthcare delivery, and she does it with rare judgment and heart. Landing her as my partner in leadership was an early win for this school, and I could not ask for a better person to help us build the infrastructure that will carry the Ivester School of Nursing into its future,” Clevenger said.

The University of Georgia’s Ivester School of Nursing was established in 2025. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program has received developmental approval from the Georgia Board of Nursing and will undergo the remaining approval processes with the Georgia Board of Nursing and the University System of Georgia this fall. Pending those approvals, the inaugural class is anticipated to begin in fall 2027.

Design plans are underway for a new School of Nursing facility to open in fall 2029 on UGA’s Health Sciences Campus.