Mount Marty University Appoints First Vice President for Health Affairs and Chief Nursing Officer

Mount Marty University (MMU) announced today that Danielle Pierotti, Ph.D., RN, has been selected as the first-ever vice president for health affairs and chief nursing officer. This new position will work closely with MMU’s mission partner Avera Health to further the university's goal of being the preeminent Catholic university focused on rural health and well-being.

"We are thrilled to welcome Danielle Pierotti to Mount Marty," said Marc Long, Ph.D., president of Mount Marty University. "Her vision for nursing education, combined with her academic, clinical and administrative experiences, will provide outstanding leadership in both higher education and health care during this time of rapid change in both.”

Pierotti received her bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and her master's degree in nursing administration from Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. She then earned her Ph.D. in nursing from the University of Utah in 2014. Pierotti is experienced in oncology and hospice care, having had various leadership roles in these specialties over her health care career. In 2016, she became the vice president of quality and research for the Elevating Home/Visiting Nurses Association of America and, in 2018, was promoted to acting president and chief executive officer. In 2021, she became the chief clinical officer and vice president for patient care services at the Dartmouth Health System in White River Junction, Vermont, before accepting her current position as the director of undergraduate studies for the School of Nursing at Idaho State University. Pierotti is also a published scholar and researcher in home health care.

"I am honored and excited to begin work at Mount Marty," said Pierotti. "Rural health and well-being needs the health care industry's urgent attention as shortages in practitioners affect these areas in an acute way. I look forward to working with Avera Health to continue to align Mount Marty's educational programs with patient needs."

Pierotti will begin at the university in July. She will work with the university's nurse anesthesia program on the Sioux Falls campus and with the undergraduate and nurse practitioner programs on the main campus in Yankton.

For more information on Mount Marty's efforts to become a preeminent Catholic university with a focus on rural health and well-being, visit mountmarty.edu/strategic-plan.

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About Mount Marty University

Founded in 1936 by the Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery, Mount Marty University is South Dakota's only Catholic, Benedictine institution of higher education. Located along the bluffs of the Missouri River in Yankton, with additional locations in Watertown and Sioux Falls, Mount Marty offers undergraduate and graduate degrees focusing on student and alumni success in high-demand fields such as health sciences, education, criminal justice, business, accounting, recreation management, and more. A community of learners in the Benedictine tradition, Mount Marty emphasizes academic excellence and develops well-rounded students with intellectual competence, professional and personal skills and moral, spiritual and social values. To learn more, visit mountmarty.edu.