3 candidates for new dean of CHHS to be interviewed starting Monday

Analicia Haynes, Editor-in-Chief

Open interview sessions for the dean of the College of Health and Human Services will be held next week.

Three candidates will be interviewed for the position at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday in Room 4440 of Booth Library.

Mark Smith, the associate dean of the College of Natural and Health Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado, will be interviewed Monday; Jeanne Lord, the current interim dean of the College of Health and Human Services, will be interviewed Wednesday; and Özlem H. Ersin, the associate dean of the College of Health and Behavioral Studies at James Madison University in Virginia, will be interviewed Friday.

Mark Smith | University of Northern Colorado

Smith has been the associate dean of the College of Natural and Health Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado since 2014.

According to his vita, his responsibilities include managing faculty and academic affairs by participating in development of the college hiring process, serving as liaison for college searches and coordinating and facilitating faculty evaluation processes among a few.

He also writes in his vita that he is responsible for management of college research and scholarly efforts and serves as a stand-in during the dean’s absence.

He is also a current professor and received his doctorate from the University of Georgia in 2004.

Jeanne Lord | Eastern Illinois University

Lord has been the interim dean of the College of Health and Human Services since July 2018 when the college was created.

Before her current position she was the associate dean of the Lumpkin College of Business and Applied Science since 2008.

According to Lord’s vita, she has worked to help provide leadership for while the new college was being created, she navigated the details surrounding the creation of a dean’s office and worked with faculty and chairs to develop a college mission statement.

She received her doctorate from the University of Illinois in 1993 and graduated from Eastern with her bachelor’s and master’s degree.

Özlem H. Ersin | James Madison University in Virgina

Ersin has been the associate dean of the College of Health and Human Services since 2016.

From 2017 to 2018 she was the founding department head of the Department of Health Professions.

According to her vita, as associate dean, she has advocated for the creation of an Interprofessional Education Council with representation from all departments of the College and the Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services and presented the case to the University Restricted Programs Advisory Group for the departments of Kinesiology, Social Work and the School of Nursing to maintain admission and progression standards.

Majors at James Madison University are open-admission, unless declared otherwise.

She writes in her vita that she led a new unit of Health Professions that house graduate (Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Physician Assistant) and undergraduate (Athletic Training, Dietetics, Health Services Administration) programs while she was department head of health professions.

She received her doctorate of philosophy, social and administrative pharmacy from the University of Minnesota in 2012.

The End Goal

Eastern’s provost Jay Gatrell said when looking for the right candidate, the university wants someone who is passionate about the student experience and excited about working with the faculty.

He said they want someone who is engaged and can look to innovate, grow and evolve the college.

Analicia Haynes can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].