Because the School of Nursing is a land grant university, and both a top research and teaching institution, it is positioned to approach health issues from all three perspectives. This is reflected in the school's organizational structure.

The School of Nursing is organized in thematic cooperatives. This enables faculty and students to focus the combined forces of research, education and practice/service on four health care themes, all of them areas of strength for the school. All faculty participate in a cooperative, each of which is supported by a chair, program associate and program assistant.

As a function of this dynamic cooperative structure, issues raised in practice become research questions, and research findings in turn can be shared in the classroom and back in the practice setting.

The cooperative structure helps the school realize the true power of a research-driven school.

The four cooperatives are: