Florence Okoro, associate professor of nursing at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, passed away on June 16 following a brief illness. She was 64 years old.
Dr. Okoro earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing in Nigeria. In 2015, she completed her Ph.D. in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and joined the faculty in the School of Nursing at UNC Charlotte.
Throughout her scholarly career, Dr. Okoro focused on chronic illness management, particularly type 2 diabetes, stroke, and cardiovascular disease as well as the role of peer and caregiver support in improving patient outcomes. Many of her research projects included collaborations with colleagues in Africa.
More recently, Dr. Okoro’s scholarship centered on mentoring and doctoral students’ international learning experiences. She helped to develop an ongoing Collaborative Online International Learning Course that brings together doctoral nursing students from universities in three countries to foster engagement and cross-cultural collaboration.