Assoc. Nursing Dean Lynaugh to retire

Nursing Associate Dean and Graduate Studies Director Joan Lynaugh is retiring early, Nursing doctoral student Cheryl Neisser-Frankson announced at the Graduate and Professional Students Assembly meeting last night. Lynaugh served as a Nursing School professor before assuming the position of associate dean. She is also director of the Center for the Study of the History of Nursing. "I'm sorry to see her go since she has only been here about two years," Neisser-Frankson said. She said Nursing graduate students have said Lynaugh's replacement will come from outside the School of Nursing. "The word is they will probably search for an external candidate although the position will be open for internal candidates," Neisser-Frankson told GAPSA members. Lynaugh declined to comment on her retirement. GAPSA continued the meeting with the election of first year Wharton graduate student Victor Prince as the new chairperson of GAPSA. Prince will replace Wharton doctoral student Ari Brose, who became the GAPSA chairperson in January after Astronomy graduate student David Mestre resigned midterm for personal reasons. "I feel like I'm leaving [GAPSA] in good hands," Brose said. Prince, who assumes the position in May, said he will strive to foster more interaction between GAPSA and the University community. "I think that GAPSA is a great way to get more involved with the whole school," Prince said. "I also hope we will be able to get a running start on next year." Hoping to elect the new GAPSA board ahead of schedule, Prince asked GAPSA members to remind their schools to elect new representatives before the semester ends. Members were also informed that English graduate students will protest in response to the English Department's decision not to promote Associate English Professor Vicky Mahaffey to a full professorship. Mahaffey is tenured and is the chair of the graduate program in the English department. But, unlike most graduate chairs, she is only an associate professor. The graduate students will ask Provost Stanley Chodorow to promote Mahaffey and to form a task force that can review the process that departments use to grant professorships. The protest will take place March 14 in front of College Hall. According to sixth-year Medical student Erick Santos, the Medical student government body has begun to develop a proposal for a University-wide process that would allow undergraduates and graduate students to participate in the selection of candidates for high-caliber positions. This action is in response to School of Medicine Dean William Kelley's decision to search for Vice-Dean Frederic Burg's replacement without a search committee.